The Kiss Of Death
by White Firebird
Summary: Everything was already going to hell before she kissed him and then pushed him through a table. Now, he has no idea how he's going to deal with the uncertainty of their 'relationship.' Maybe he bit off a bit more than he could chew when he told her that he digged crazy chicks...[ON HIATUS]
1. 99 problems

**I've always been a fan of wrestling, ever since I was three years old, and for the longest time I've wanted to write a story involving whoever, but I was always busy with my other stories and other things in my life. And well, ever since the storyline in which this story is about took off, I've been pumped and thought that this was the best opportunity to write a story. CM Punk has always been my favorite wrestler, and AJ is pretty much the best thing to happen to the company since, well, the 'YES' chants and Punk's promo last summer. So here goes. I'm going to do my best to base the story off of the events that happen on television, with everything else coming from my own mind in-between. Hope you all like!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

His back was in pain, that much he knew. He could still feel the tiny splinters of the wooden table he had crashed through sticking out in his back as he gingerly made his way back up the ramp, toward the curtain. The WWE Title was firmly clutched in his left hand, his free hand on the small of his back, as if that was going to help the pain go away. His face was contorted in a half grimace, half look of anger as he finally made it to the Gorilla position, his friend and current opponent for his title in two weeks not far behind him.  
"You alright, Punk?", he asked, shaking the cobwebs out of his head a bit as they walked down the steps.

"I should ask you the same question", he responded with as they slowly padded down the hall, the dressing room their mutual destination. "I wasn't the one who had to catch my ass on the way down."

"Be lucky I managed to, or else you'd have a nice little bump on the back of your head to go along with that back pain", he shot back with a wry grin as they made it to the door. As Daniel opened the door for Punk, he noticed a far away look in his friend's eyes. Walking into the room only to put his title belt down by his belongings, he stormed back out of the room and down the hall without another word, leaving his friend in the dust as he walked with a purpose.

When he finally arrived at the very end of the hall, the Diva's locker room in his sights, he angrily banged on the door, expecting one of the girls to open up. "I know one of you is in there, so open the damn door!", he shouted from the outside, the pain gone from his face, replaced with pure rage. He kept hammering away at he door for a good two minutes until finally, the buxom blonde Kaitlyn opened the door with a startled look on her face. Surely she hadn't been expecting to find a very pissed off WWE Champion threatening to break the door down with his own two fists.

"Jeez, I know you like to say that it's clobbering time when you head out to the ring, but this is a little ridiculous, don't you think?", she asked with a small grin, trying to lighten the mood, but failing when she looked Punk directly in the eyes. He wasn't here for small talk, that was for damn sure.

"Where is she? I know you know where she is", he said through gritted teeth, his taped up fists clenched tightly as they rested uneasily at his sides. He still couldn't believe the events of what happened a little over fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago. He caught a glimpse of her eyes as he laid there, on top of Daniel and the broken table, and he could see, in her eyes, that she had ad-libbed the entire thing, called an audible, went against the script, whatever. He didn't know what to think right now; everything he was doing was being fueled by the remaining adrenaline he had coursing through his veins, and the anger he was feeling at the entire situation.

"Where the hell is she!", he hissed after not recieving answer from the blonde standing right in front of him. "I'm not playing games right now. Is she in there? You'd better let me in and speak to her if she is", he said sternly, trying to calm himself down to no avail.

"Punk...Punk...", Kaitlyn tried saying, getting drowned out by his words. Finally, she threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. "PUNK!", she yelled; that finally got him to quiet down, if only for a second or two. "I don't know what to tell you, but she's not here. She skipped on out of here the second she got back from ringside. Didn't say anything at all, either. She just kinda grabbed her bags and bolted."

Not believing her words for a second, Punk pushed the door to the locker room open and waltzed right in, only to find the room empty, save for Kaitlyn's things. He couldn't believe it, but then again, at the same time, he could. It would be just like her to skip away, that unnerving smile on her lips as she did it. Walking back into the hall and past Kaitlyn, he shook his head and exhaled deeply, as if he was trying his hardest to not release all the pent up frustration he was keeping inside of him right now all at once.

"You tell her...you know what, forget it. I'll deal with her tomorrow night", he spat, moreso to himself as he walked down the hall, never looking back to see the utterly confused and conflicted look on Kaitlyn's face. Soon enough, though, he was back in the locker room and sure enough, the only other people left there were Daniel, John and Chris, and they were all ready to depart for SmackDown tomorrow night in Corpus Christi.

"Guess you won't be sleeping much again tonight, huh champ?", Cena said with a small smile and a slap on the shoulder as Punk entered the room. "How's your back feeling?", he asked as he scrunched his nose for a second; Chris had nailed him good as they fought backstage during the match.

"As well as you'd expect", he muttered in response. "Good thing I had Danny Boy here to catch my fall and be my knight in shining armor", he then added in a morose tone of voice. Daniel and Chris both grinned while Cena rolled his eyes; it was always something with the champ.

"Can't have ya too banged up for the big battle royal tomorrow night, Punk. Wouldn't be the same without you at your best", Chris said as he slung his bag around his shoulder and grabbed his other bag at it's handle. "See ya there, Punk."

"Yeah, right", he said as he sat down at his stall, the WWE Title in his hands as he stared down at it. He heard footsteps, and the door swing open, signifying the departure of Cena and Jericho. Daniel, however, had sat down next to him and put a hand on his old friend's shoulder, trying to think of the words to say at a time like this.

"You know that wasn't what was supposed to happen, right?", was all he came up with, a chuckle escaping him as he removed his hand from Punk's shoulder and leaned back in his folding chair. Punk nodded his head in response. It was all he could do right now, his eyes never leaving his title belt. Words seemed to escape him at the moment.

"And you also realize that if she had pulled that little ad lib, that little stunt with anyone else, she'd have probably been suspended or fired on the spot the second she came through the curtain, right?"

Again, all Punk could do was nod his head in response to Daniel's questions, rhetorical or not. It was becoming ridiculous, the entire situation. But there was nothing he could do about it right now. Sighing, he put his title back in his bag and began to unwrap his wrist tape and undo his kickpads. Daniel had decided that he had said enough and left his friend alone, feeling that saying anything else about what happened out there would further set Punk off. Soon enough, Punk was all by himself in the dressing room, finishing getting dressed. Putting on his worn out cap, he walked out and down to where his rental was waiting.

After getting behind the wheel and beginning the two and a half hour drive to Corpus Christi, his mind was still drawn, still wandering back to that one moment where he looked up at her, right after she had kissed him, and then shoved him through that table. The look on her face was...he didn't even know how to describe or characterize it. Was she doing all of this to purposely get under his skin? He didn't know. He didn't have any answers, really, just questions. Too many of them.

Was it all an act? Did she really harbor feelings for him? He knew that she had taken breaking up with Daniel really hard, and the manner in how they went about it behind the curtain was amicable, but not without awkwardness, hurt feelings and confliction, second guessing. She had taken it as well as someone taking a ladder to the face would, he said to himself, but at least she got up after a while. And though it was amicable behind the curtain, how it had to be played out on television couldn't have made things better, but she kept insisting that she was fine, on screen and off of it. The lines between reality and unreality were blurring at such a maddening rate, it was making his head spin.

Eventually, he reached the hotel where everyone was staying at and after checking in, he made it to his room and quickly collapsed onto his bed. He checked his phone, sent out a few tweets, and then found himself staring at the ceiling. His usual road wife, Kofi, was staying with Truth now that he had returned from his injury, so he had the room largely to himself. But before he could try (key word there) to get a bit of sleep, there was knocking on his door. Groaning loud enough for whoever it was on the other side to hear, he swung the door open to find nobody there. There was, however, a note stuck to his door. Grabbing it, it was from Kaitlyn, and on the note, she said that if he really wanted to, she could set up a meeting between him and who he had been looking for earlier sometime in the morning or when they got to the arena, whatever he preferred. Crumpling up the note and tossing it in the garbage, the WWE Champion found himself sighing deeply once more as he closed the door and drifted back over to his bed, plopping down on it once more.

What had happened to her? When he had first met her, she was full of life, always smiling, such a vibrant personality. Kinda girl next door-ish. He hadn't really talked to her all that much when she first arrived on the main roster, but when they did happen to cross paths, she was always very...sweet. They would usually talk about comics and music, and that would be that. Once she got moved to SmackDown, he started seeing her more frequently, especially when she started dating Daniel, on and off screen. But it was then that things, he noticed, that they went downhill. Sure, Daniel was always a good friend of his, and he'd always have his back, but he wasn't exactly the best relationship material...and it showed. Sure, some of that could be related to his career taking off when he won the World Heavyweight Title and the subsequent pressure that came with it, but he had known Daniel going back to their days in the indies, and he was never the best when it came to relationships and dating, at all.

He would either get attatched too easily, or become overbearing and snippy and just an overall douche. And in the past, he usually didn't think twice of it; whatever happened was Daniel's business, not his, and he more often than not had his own damn problems to worry about. But for some reason, a reason that he hadn't been able to figure out yet, this time was different. It had still bothered him to no end that he suddenly found himself in this position. Now, he thought, it was going to wreak havoc on his career and his beliefs. Shaking his head against the pillow, he sighed once more as he grabbed his phone and looked at the time. It was a little after two, and he had planned on hitting the gym as early as possible, seeing as he didn't sleep at all, but suddenly, he didn't feel the urge to go. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do with himself until he had to leave for the arena, nor did he really care. His mind was too pre-occupied. Grabbing his headphones, he plugged them into his ears and put his hands up behind his head. He couldn't help but laugh at the song that came on. He didn't even know how it had gotten on there, one of his friends had probably snuck it on there, but nonetheless, it was fitting, given the circumstances.

He had 99 problems and AJ Lee was one of them. And he didn't know how he was going to solve her.

* * *

**That's it for chapter one! I plan on having chapter two up sometime over the weekend, before Raw on Monday night I hope. The whole segment from SmackDown this past Tuesday will be covered, and for what it's worth, I hope that they put Punk and AJ together. It'd be...interesting, to say the least. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	2. message sent

**Here's chapter two, as promised! Thanks to those who reviewed and put this on their story alert list. It means a lot! Here's hoping Raw continues to build off of SmackDown last Tuesday like we all want it to. Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

A loud beeping woke him up from his sleep. Rolling over onto his side, he checked the time on his phone and saw that it was six o'clock, the time that he normally found himself waking up at when he was on the road. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Punk sat up and grabbed the remote, flicking on the television and illuminating the darkened room. The sun had yet to rise in Corpus Christi, and as he gazed outside at the darkness, nothing but black skies, he couldn't help but think that, at a time like this, that was his exact mood; dark. Getting up out of bed, he gingerly made his way into the bathroom, flicking on the lights in there and turning around to take a look at his back. It was a nice shade of black and blue (had he really fallen through the table _that_ hard?) and he cursed under his breath.

"Girl's got a hell of a shove", he said to himself as he turned the lights off and fell back onto the bed face first. He didn't have the urge to go to the gym and kick the crap out of himself like he usually did, and he didn't have to be at the arena until three in the afternoon to begin preparations for tonight's live SmackDown. What the hell was he going to do with himself? As he began to ponder that thought, a knock was heard on his door. Groaning and rolling his eyes, he slid off the bed thinking to himself who the hell could be up this early; far as he knew, he was really the only one among the boys and girls who was usually up at the ass crack of dawn. He was somewhat pleasantly surprised when he opened the door to see Truth and Kofi standing in the hallway.

"The hell are you doing up so early?", Punk asked the Tag Team Champions, who looked like they were ready for a run, or something of the sort, judging from their attire. Which consisted of matching basketball shorts. He'd have to tuck that away in his head and give them crap for that later.

"I'm so used to you waking me up this early in the morning when we're on the bus, it's kinda rubbing off", Kofi said as he cracked his neck. "And Truth here's gotta get back in the rythym of a solid workout regimen."

"That broken foot set me the hell back", Truth commented. "Gotta get back into ring shape, didn't feel so hot out there last night. You down, champ?", he then asked, stepping back to stretch his leg out.

Looking at them both, he couldn't help but smile. Why the two of them weren't featured more prominently was beyond him, but that was just how the business went, and he knew this better than anyone else. Their time would come, eventually. And at least, he reasoned, they were starting to give a crap about the tag division again, so that worked for them. Shaking the thoughts from his head, the smile on his lips quickly faded away and Punk shook his head. "You guys know how much I love going on runs and kicking my own ass in the gym, but uh, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that. I've got some stuff I gotta do, and I'm gonna try and rest up before the show tonight. Thanks though."

As he turned to close the door, Kofi put his hand up and stopped him from doing so. Stepping into the room, a slightly worried look spread across his face as he began to question his friend and fellow road wife. "You feeling any better after last night man? You uh, took a pretty hard fall through that table."

Looking over his shoulder at his friend and former tag partner, Punk glared and shook his head. "No, I'm not. I got pushed through a table, I feel wrecked. Thanks for the concern."

For a moment, Kofi wanted to say something else, but he lived to talk another day. Biting his tongue, he muttered a goodbye and quietly closed the door behind him, leaving the WWE Champion alone yet again. Checking the time once more, it now closing in on seven o'clock and the sun was beginning to peak out from the dark clouds of night. Stepping back into the bathroom, he turned the shower on and removed his clothes, the warm water providing instant relief after he stepped in. As soon as the water hit him, his mind began to race.

More questions, no closer to finding any answers to them. She had to have an end game somewhere in all of this madness, this chaos that had envaloped his career and personal life. What was she really gunning for? He had heard the rumblings that she was going to be featured more, that she was 'the next big thing', and all that other shit. And normally, he'd have been happy for her; she came from a rough upbringing living in New Jersey, living in motels, working three jobs at once, just to support her family and go to wrestling school. Without a doubt, he admired her work ethic and her dedication to her craft...but all admiration and support ended the second she spun his feud with Daniel on it's head and made everything all topsy turvy.

In the back of his mind, he had always figured she'd play some role in the feud, given her and Daniel's aforementioned recent break-up, but he never, even in his wildest dreams, expected her role to be **THIS** big, and for it to cause this many problems all at once. He wasn't even sure she was acting anymore...a part of him, however small it was, was convinced that she legitimately needed professional help. She was mixing reality with unreality, and it was a deadly cocktail of emotions and confliction that was going to end up burning one of them. And he'd be damned if he wasn't going to make sure that he wasn't the one that ended up burned.

Stepping out of the shower and drying himself off, he changed into a pair of shorts, a plain shirt and his old ratty ballcap, and left for the lobby. A walk around the area surrounding the hotel felt more his pace for today. Exiting the elevator, he ran into none other than the one, the only...

"Cole", he said under his breath as the man in question sauntered up to him, that idiotic and always annoying smile on his face. He was wearing some ridiculous tracksuit and headband, the local newspaper tucked under his arm. He looked like a complete and total tool, but then again, he always did, so this wasn't anything new.

"Hey, champ! How ya doing? How's the back? Took a nice little dive there last night!", he exclaimed and asked at once, flashing that smile and his teeth that were just begging right now to be punched down his own throat. Punk never could stand Cole and his smarmy attitude, always thinking he was the king shit of announcing. It irritated and sickened him to no end.

"I was doing great until a minute ago", he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh come on, Punk, your back can't hurt that bad, can it? If anything, it should be your ego that should be hurting the most. Getting shoved through a table by some ninety pound teenager with constant PMS...that can't be one of your career highlights", he said without noticing that Punk's right hand was balled up into a fist and digging through his skin. Before Cole could run his mouth some more, Punk grabbed him by the collar of his tracksuit and backed him up against a wall, where nobody would see them.

"Listen, you two-bit hack artist douchebag, you say one more word about her and I'll make sure that you _never_ walk again. Now get out of my face, you tool", he said, shoving the announcer to the left of him as he walked toward the front doors. He could hear Cole say something to him, but his point was made and he had nothing left to say to him. A few thoughts then crossed his mind as he got to the doors.

When the hell did he become so defensive and protective of her? Why the hell was he doing so after the events of last night? More damn questions. No fucking answers. None. To say that it was pissing him off would be a gross understatement.

Upon exiting the hotel and walking down the street a bit, his head down and headphones plugged into his ears, he didn't even see who was in front of him until he bumped into said person, startling him and accidentally knocking the person down. Instantly, he stuck his hand out to help the person up to their feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there..."

"Punk?"

Looking at who he had knocked down, he saw Kaitlyn sitting there on the pavement, a bemused look on her face as she reached for his hand and got pulled to a vertical base.

"Oh, hey there. Fancy seeing you out this early in the morning. Thought you'd still be in bed getting some kind of beauty sleep", he said with air quotations around 'beauty sleep'. She gave him a weird look, like he had grown a second head, but shook her head and brushed herself off before speaking.

"You got the note I stuck to your door last night, didn't you?", she asked, and he inwardly groaned. He knew it would be brought up, but a small part of him held out hope that it was just a joke on her part to get back at him for acting like a hothead last night. And besides, yeah, he wanted (no, _needed_) to talk to the girl occupying his thoughts, but it was too damn early to be doing so.

"I was hoping you were making the whole thing up, but seeing as that isn't the case, then yes, I got the note you stuck on my door last night. Please don't tell me...", he managed to get out before she cut him off, a small smile on her lips as she motioned with her head to the park that was in front of them. His shoulders slumped and he let out an audible sigh. This was going to either be really good, or suck hardcore. Knowing him and his past experiences with women, it'd be the latter.

"She's sitting on a bench, right next to the fountain in the center. I suggest you talk to her, Punk. Unless you'd rather walk away and try to talk to her before the show tonight. Your choice. But she's right there, if you do decide to go in there", she said rather ominously as she walked past him and down the street, back to the hotel he assumed. He gave her a dirty look as she walked off, then turned to face the entrance of the park. Sighing deeply, he shook his head and slowly began to make his way toward the center fountain.

After walking for a few minutes, he saw the fountain, and then...he saw her. She was sitting with her back to him, doing something, he didn't know. But she was there, presumably waiting for him because Kaitlyn set the entire thing up. He looked around and took in his surroundings for a moment, and the thought of walking away and dealing with this before the show tonight crossed his mind. But then he thought to himself, why the hell deal with it right before the show, it'll only cloud your head even more at a time when you could ill afford that to happen. So, his shoulders slumped and resigned to the fact that this situation needed to be nipped in the bud right now, he let out a deep breath and walked over to the bench.

Either she heard him muttering under his breath, or heard his footsteps, but when he was within distance of her, she turned around to face him, that cheshire cat looking grin on her small lips. She tilted her head to the side as she stared at him, watching as he walked around to sit down on the bench. He made sure to put a little space between them, there was no way she was going to go all nutzo on him and try to claw his eyes out of their sockets. But he wasn't going to tip toe and beat around the bush either, and that's why he dove right in almost seconds after sitting down.

"Hey there...nice day for a sit in the park, huh?", he started off with, cursing himself for being such an idiot with words. An unknown feeling was brewing in the pit of his stomach, and he immediately pushed it aside. He didn't dare think of what it could be. He had to get through this, now. "Listen, I'm not gonna sit here and act as if what you did last night didn't piss me off or kill my body...because it did piss me off and my back feels wrecked right now. But that's not what I'm here to really talk about, believe it or not..."

She didn't say a word, instead listening to his every word intently and giving him that almost creepy (though he didn't _really_ find it _that_ creepy...) smile, a small batch of dandelions in her hands. She took one and blew on it, watching the small parts flutter off into the air. "I don't know what you're trying to do, or what cards you've got, but this isn't a game I'm up for playing right now, AJ. I'm the champion, one of the faces of the company. And I can't...I can't sit here and wonder, _'What's she gonna do tonight? She gonna go against the grain and pull another little stunt again? What's next, instead of going through a table, it's gonna be a ladder to the face?'_ ", he said as he carefully measured his words, inching back away from her ever so slightly. But she didn't move. In fact, she kept repeating her little dandelion blowing routine, and she was still grinning at him. What the hell was this girl thinking right now was what ran through his mind instead of what he wanted to say next.

But as he went to continue, she put her hand up to hush him, and then began to inch toward his side of the bench. Instead of moving, he remained at the edge of the bench, almost paralyzed with a sense of fear and a sense of...wanting her to get closer to him. Now he was beginning to question his own damn sanity as she kept getting closer and closer to him. They were mere inches away from each other, face to face, when she broke out smiling, flashing her pearly whites. She then proceeded to lean in and place a soft, gentle kiss on his cheek, quickly pulling back, still smiling at him. And then...she got up and skipped away, without ever saying a word to him. It baffled the living crap out of him, to the point where he exclaimed out loud...

"What the **fuck!**"

xXx

Hours later, it was show time. And from the second he left the park to the minute he arrived at the arena and found out that he was gonna have an in-ring segment with her and Daniel, his little interaction with her at the park was all he could think about. He instantly regretted not leaving the park when he had the chance and had been kicking himself in the teeth over it all day. So needless to say, when his music hit and the roar of the crowd followed, he was not a happy man when he came from behind the curtain to walk (very, _very_ slowly) down the ramp into the ring, and his face showed it. Sure, telling Cole to hit the bricks again was a small source of enjoyment, but other than that...

That feeling he had experienced earlier, in the park, was making itself known in the pit of his stomach again. And this time, he couldn't just push it aside, no matter how much he wanted to. When it was his turn to take the floor, that feeling in his stomach still festering, he breathed heavily and just let it rip...why he hadn't said any of this when they were alone, he didn't know, but it felt good to get his thoughts out there...and it also felt kinda wrong. Like he wanted to say something else to her, not tell her to get help and that she was in a bad place mentally. He saw the hurt in her eyes and on her face (or was it a facade? Was she faking the hurt? He didn't know anymore) when he said those words. Then he listened to Daniel rant on, playing his part flawlessly, and when he turned to face the crowd during one of his lines, she glanced over at Punk and he whispered to her that it wasn't over, that they needed to talk more after this.

Then it came time for her to step between them, and when she turned to face Daniel, ultimately kissing him, long and hard, his face fell. He actually felt...disappointment. She was really getting into it with Daniel, and it kinda...stung. He didn't know why he felt like this...he just did. It was that feeling in his stomach that made him feel like this, he was sure of it. So as he began to walk away, like he was supposed to, she followed him outside, like she was supposed to, and spun him around to face her. He looked at her and asked her what the hell she wanted, and then...she kissed him, long and hard. And at first, he didn't feel anything because he was resisting as hard as he could to enjoy it. He tried _really hard_ to not enjoy it...but when she slipped her tongue in there, be it an accident or not, his resistance went out the window and he immersed himself in it. Soon enough, it was a full blown make out session right there in the aisle, and as she eventually pulled away (part of him almost wished she hadn't), her lip got caught on his lip ring, and he swore he heard her giggle as it happened. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and she gave him that smile of hers...and that feeling in his stomach rose as he watched her skip away. She may have been acting when she kissed Daniel a mere two minutes ago...but something told him that wasn't the case right here, right now.

She stopped at the top of the ramp and did the **'YES!'** chants, getting the crowd to go along with her, all while he stared at her like a dumbass, mouth agape, utter bewilderment written across his face. She had to have been sending him a message, her having pushed him through a table the night before be damned.

And he had a weekend full of house shows to see what that message was all about.

* * *

**And that's that! Again, hope you all enjoy this new chapter, chapter three will be up after Raw, sometime late Tuesday or Wednesday. Here's hoping they put them together on the show or at the PPV! **


	3. in too deep

**Sorry for the slight delay in updating! Work has been a killer the last few days, so I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to update as quickly as possible. But I will shoot to have chapter four up before the PPV on Sunday night. Can't wait to see how they build off of Monday night! Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

It was a little after three in the morning when he had sleepily wandered into his home in suburban Chicago after catching the last possible flight from Corpus Christi. Upon entering his darkened home, he dropped his bags and flicked on the lights, and then nearly collapsed and made his bed on the floor right there. The last forty eight hours of his career (and his life, for that matter) made his head spin more times than he cared to admit, and all he wanted to do was, believe it or not, sleep for as long as he possibly could. It was the fourth of July and he just wanted to do his best to forget about the pain his back was in, about the string of house shows that were coming up, and to forget about AJ and whether or not she was a fucking loon or not. After he had eliminated himself and Daniel from the battle royal that ended the show, he scraped himself up off the mat and hobbled back to the dressing room, looking forward to going home for the holiday.

And what should he find when he got to his stuff? A sticky note stuck to his bag. **From AJ.** Asking him to meet her in the catering area before everyone left. And after everything that had happened over the course of that day, from not saying anything to her in the park, to telling her everything and then making out with her (which part of him enjoyed, though he wouldn't admit that to _anyone_) to this...he wanted to see what she had to say. So after a quick shower and changing into his street clothes, he grabbed his stuff and weaved his way through the halls of the arena, finally arriving in catering after what felt like a mile walk. He grabbed a chair, propped his feet up on the table nearby, and waited.

And waited. And waited. After sitting there for close to a half hour, he stopped a stray stage hand if he had seen her anywhere, and he told him that he had seen her skipping out of here with Kaitlyn and her bags twenty minutes ago. All he could do at that rate was close his eyes and take a deep breath, before taking the chair he had been sitting in and throwing it across the room at the wall out of pure frustration, before walking out. He wanted to scream at her so bad it was making one of the veins in his neck pop out. What the hell her deal was, he didn't know, and at the rate that she was messing with his head and playing all these games with him, he was either going to commit mass homicide or he was going to curse her out and make her cry the second he got some time alone with her.

By the time he had reached the airport, he had ran four red lights, cut countless people off, and nearly managed to run a semi truck off the road, but none of that mattered to him. All Punk wanted to do was get back to the one place where everything made sense, and that was Chicago. Now he was home, and as he walked up the steps to his room, he made a point to just forget about everything for a day, because the fourth of July meant that he was getting together with his friends and family and gorging on copious amounts of food. And if anyone brought any of this up, he'd just tell them to fuck off like he always did. Eventually he reached the top of the steps and entered his room, taking his shorts and shirt off, throwing them into the corner with all the rest of the dirty clothes he never had time to wash. Falling onto his bed, he plugged his phone into it's charger and went to close his eyes, when his phone vibrated, signifying a text.

_Hey...it's AJ. I'm really, really sorry for ditching you like that, I didn't mean to...can I make it up to you and buy you lunch before the house show on Friday? Let me know if that's cool! Bye! xx_

After reading it, he did the only sensible thing anyone would've done; he threw his phone against the wall and promptly fell asleep, wishing he hadn't read the damn message in the first place.

**xXx**

"You look like shit, man."

It was a little after four in the afternoon, and everyone was gathered in the backyard of Punk's place for the holiday. Friends and family alike were all together, sharing laughs and enjoying themselves. Punk had been, for the most part, hanging around by himself in the background, stopping only to greet people as they came and went. To anyone else, it appeared as if he wasn't feeling well and doing his best to, perhaps, not get anyone else sick. But to his best friend, well, he knew when something was up.

"Fuck off."

"Ahh, that's the guy I came to know and love. What's got your trunks in a twist now?"

"It's none of your damn business, so fuck off."

"Come on buddy, you know you can tell me anything. Are you mad about your hairline? It does look like it's going a little south..."

"I will sock you right in the adam's apple."

Colt gave a hearty laugh as he put his arm around Punk's shoulders, pulling him in close and taking a swig of his beer with his free hand as they sat on the steps of his little porch, watching everyone enjoy themselves as the music played in the background.

"You're the host of this little get together, man. Why're you being so anti-social and acting like a Debbie Downer? Talk to me buddy."

"I told you, it's none of your damn business. Just some shit that I'm dealing with on my own time that has nothing to do with anyone here, alright? Now can you leave me the hell alone?"

Colt looked at his best friend and just from glancing at him for a second or two, he could tell what was bugging him. He wasn't stupid; he had watched both Raw and SmackDown this week, and he knew it was that girl, AJ, that was putting him in such a crappy mood. He was always like that when girls were involved with the equation. Especially ones, dare he think it, that his best friend took a liking and/or interest in. He remembered laughing when he heard Punk say that he dug crazy chicks, and he laughed because it was true. But, much like anyone who dealt with the WWE Champion on a regular basis, he bit his tongue and let it slide, patting his friend on the shoulder before getting up and making his way back to the party, but not before walking over to a red haired woman and whispering something in her ear. She looked over in the direction of Punk and sighed.

_Of course_ she would have to go over there and talk to him.

When she started to gravitate toward him, he rolled his eyes and threw his arms up a little bit, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else in Chicago but here. As soon as she got within earshot, he stood up and spoke to her, trying to get her to leave. "Of course he told you to come over here. Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I'm not in the mood to-"

"Phil."

His mouth closed almost immediately, a scowl forming on his face, lips pursed tightly together. He absolutely, more than anything in the world, hated being called by his birth name. She knew this, and she did it only to get him to shut up. Her gaze wandered down to his hands, and she saw that the can of Pepsi he had been drinking in his right hand was crushed. A small smile crept across her lips as she sat down next to him, looking up at him, still fuming.

"Why are you letting it bother you so much?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

He discared the mutilated can of Pepsi in the recyclable bin to his right, and then felt her hand on his own, trying to guide him back into a seated position. He let her do so, but he didn't look her in the eye as he reverted back to a seated position, instead keeping his eyes focussed on the mass of people mere feet in front of them, the scowl on his face still present. She loved seeing him like this, and she was probably in small company when it came to that. Getting the chance, whenever it was, to needle and annoy him just brightened up her day. She couldn't say the same about him, though, that was for sure.

"I see the way she looks at you, and how she moves and acts when you're around. You're the twinkle in her crazy little eye. It's kinda cute, actually, watching it all unfold."

"It's pissing me off to-"

"And I see how **you** look at her. Your body says that you don't care, that you're not that interested, but your eyes, they tell a much different story. And please, out of respect for our friendship, don't sit here and try and feed me that whole _'you're crazy, you're not on the road anymore, you don't see what I see'_ bullshit, dude. I saw it all the time, I **experienced** it first hand, and I'm seeing it again now whenever I turn on Raw or SmackDown. She really-"

"Finish that sentence and I will not hesitate to kick you in the mouth."

She burst out laughing, so hard and so loud that people within earshot actually stopped to stare for a moment before going back about their business. Punk had his head buried in his hands, almost as if he was trying to go invisible, but really he was doing his best to bite his tongue and prevent himself from lashing out at one of his closest friends. He couldn't believe that she was still laughing when he looked over at her, leaning back in her seat on the steps of the porch. Eventually, after a few good minutes of hysterics, she calmed herself back down and gave him a knowing look, a small, subtle grin on her red lips.

"While I'm sure your kicks pack quite a bit of power, nothing will ever top the time where Adam speared me and the back of my head had violent sex with a stray ladder."

He went to go make a comeback, but she put her finger up to his face and it quieted him down almost immediately. "I won't tell you what to do, heavens know that you'd never listen, but I will ask you a question before I leave you here on your little stoop. When's the last time you got this pissed off over a girl?"

"Right after our first date, something like that, why?"

"What'd you do about it?"

"I went after...god damn it Amy, I hate you."

She gave him a sweet smile as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, standing up and walking back into the crowd of people, leaving Punk all alone, just like she had found him. Now, not only was he pissed off at the entire situation that he found himself in, he was now surely going to be pissed off at what he was about to do. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he brought up the text message, sent a quick reply, then stomped back into his home and up to his room to pack his bags for the flight that he had to take tomorrow to El Paso. And he did it all with a scowl and a grimace...but underneath the skin, he did it with a bit of hope. Hope that maybe he could finally figure out what the hell was clicking in this girl's brain, and hope that maybe, just maybe, it could lead to something that didn't want to make him put his fist through a wall.

**xXx**

Hope **sucked**, he said to himself as he sat there silently, sipping his glass of water. Hope could suck and die for all he cared right now.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit...nervous."

He glanced over at her from across the table, an amused look on his face, before his gaze quickly turned back to his hands that were resting in his lap. She tilted her head to the side, studying his posture and his face, a hint of a grin on her lips. It had been like this ever since he showed up at the quaint little cafe that she had asked him out for lunch to. They exchanged hello's and simple pleasantries, and then it was mostly silence, it only being broken when the waiter asked them what they'd like to have. The air surrounding them was filled with nothing but awkwardness, but AJ didn't seem to either care or notice. Or both.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Again, he glanced at her, amused, then quickly shook his head. Him, uncomfortable? Never. He was the WWE Champion, for christ's sake. He didn't know what the word uncomfortable even meant. It wasn't in his dictionary. So for her to ask him that was laughable and absurd.

"That's as stupid a question as I'll ever be asked", he said with a derisive snort as he reached for his water, only to see that she had taken it and placed it on her side of the table, out of his reach. He gave her an annoyed look while she smiled at him. "Really? What are you, five?"

"I'm as old as I want to be", she said quickly in return. "I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I? I know I am. I can sense it in the way your body is. Very tense, very on edge. I don't know whether to be happy or concerned."

Was she for real? Like honestly, who the hell did she think she was?

"And what makes you a judge on how people are feeling through their body movements? What're you, some kind of witch doctor?"

"Oh, I study people all the time. Whether they're sitting down, sleeping, or doing whatever, I'm always studying how people are feeling and thinking through their movements. It's kind of a gift, really."

"You study people's movements when they're sleeping."

She happily nodded, like there wasn't anything wrong with doing that, and Punk's eyes went wide as he mouthed _'wow'_ to himself. This girl, she was something else. Crazy didn't even begin to decribe it, at least describe it accurately. Their food then arrived, and she thanked the waiter before giving Punk one more quick smile, digging in after that. All he could do was stare at her unbelievably, like she had grown a second and third head in the course of five minutes. He couldn't even think of touching his food, he was so wrapped up in the mystique of the girl sitting across from him. Again, to say that this entire thing with her was confusing and pissing him off was a gross understatement.

"What's your deal?", he asked. She stopped her eating for a moment, giving him a look that ranged between greatly angered to slightly peeved. The look quickly disappeared, however, in form of a grin, her head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

"I have no deal, Punk. I just think you're the coolest guy that I've ever met. Plus, I wanted to make it up to you for ditching you like I did. I was gonna meet up with you but then Kaitlyn dragged me away because she had a crisis and yeah...I'm really sorry for leaving you hanging like that."

She said it with such remorse and sweetness in her voice, it almost (for a second at least) made him forget that she had shoved him through a table a scant four days ago, and then slipped him her tongue three days ago...not to mention the countless other things she had been doing for the last two months that had been driving him to the brink of insanity. _Almost._ All he could do was shake his head in amazement at it all.

Eventually, they finshed their lunch and, much like she had promised, she took care of the bill. Sure, he had protested, telling her it was no big deal (it was, as his still aching back would attest), this happened all the time, but she insisted and he finally relented. As they went to leave, she slid her arm around one of his as they walked to their cars, not noticing the wide eyed, bewildered look on the face of the WWE Champion. She thanked him for coming out and told him that she couldn't wait to see his match against Daniel tonight, before giving him a peck on the cheek and leaving. He didn't say anything. He couldn't. She left him speechless. And it really, really ate away at him that she had that sort of power over him.

He hated her for it.

**xXx**

The house shows were more of the same. He was touring with the SmackDown crew this week, so him and Daniel were main eventing the string of shows with street fights. Friday night they were in El Paso, and like he did every time they were in the area, he paid tribute to the late, great Eddie Guerrero. And, unbeknownst to him, AJ had been told to interfere in his matches, skipping around the ring, distracting Daniel which led to him getting the victory. Naturally, he hadn't been told she'd be interfering, so the first time, it surprised him, but only so much. She was full of them, he was realizing. And every time he tried to get her alone so he could have a serious, **serious** talk with her about just what the fuck was going on, she was never around, always leaving before he had the chance to even take his ring gear off.

So after hitting Rio Rancho on Sunday, they stuck around for Raw the next night. Punk was sitting in the locker room, putting the finishing touches on his wrist tape and his kickpads when he heard AJ's theme echo throughout the arena. Him and the rest of the guys watched with bated breath as she skipped down to the ring. After she entered and began talking, he turned away from the TV, not thinking that it would lead to anything till later in the night, like it was supposed to.

Of course, that's when she called him out to the ring. All the boys in the back then slowly turned to face him, wondering if he was gonna go out there. He shook his head, but then a stagehand began ushering him to the Gorilla position, practically pushing him out there as his music hit. And even though he was beyond pissed that she had called another audible, another little stunt, he slowly made his way to the ring, doing his best to hide his anger behind the smirk on his lips. Getting into the ring, he told her he was here over the mic, but whispered to her that this was getting ridiculous, but she ignored it (naturally). He then listened to her talk about how she was in full control of her mental faculties (it was becoming clear to him that she wasn't), and how she felt when they kissed (he still had the taste of her lips on his even a week later, and he didn't know how he felt about that fact), and how he turned her on (which caught him off guard and it showed). She then told him that she knew what she had to do. She slowly began to back away from him, and for the briefest of moments, he thought she was gonna leave the ring. But this being AJ and her being a certified crazy chick...she got down on one knee, the crowd chanting **'YES!'** over and over in the background. He said to her that she had to be kidding, it was a joke, to get off her knee. She didn't.

"CM Punk...will you marry me?"

It was then that he realized that he had gotten himself in way...way too deep.

* * *

**Hope everyone enjoyed! I know, bit of a cliff hanger, but I thought it was a good way to end the chapter, with the proposal. Again, I hope to have chapter four up before the PPV on Sunday, so hang tight! Thanks again everyone! Hope you all enjoyed!**


	4. they're the crazy ones

**Here it is! I know, I'm cutting it a bit too short for my original deadline, seeing as the PPV is about to start in ten minutes but better late than never! I switched it up a bit this time, as this chapter takes place from AJ's POV. Can't wait for the match! Can't wait for the PPV as a whole. Anyways, here it is, enjoy everyone!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"Don't look at me like that."

She looked down at her dog, who was looking up at her with wide eyes, his tongue hanging out, like he was waiting to be fed, or at the very least, shown a bit of attention. A small smile spread across her lips as she knelt down and rubbed him behind the ear for a few seconds, before she found herself wandering into her living room. It was Wednesday afternoon, and she had the rest of the week off before she had to fly out to Tucson, Arizona for the Supershow on Saturday, and then...

"Money, money, money", she hummed to herself as she fell down on her couch, grabbing the remote and turning the television on. Sunday was going to be the biggest day of her life and her career, and most people in her shoes would be a tidal wave of conflicting emotions. Excitement, nervousness would probably be chief amongst them. But to her? Yes, it was going to prove to be a day that she would never forget, but honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal to her. So what if she held the fate of the WWE Championship in her tiny little hands? It was only the most prestigious title in wrestling. So what if it was up to her to decide it's future? She looked at it as an opportunity to hit another one out of the park. She had become pretty adept at doing that over the past few months. But there were far more important things on her mind than the title that hung in the balance.

Monday night proved to be a very interesting night, grinning as she thought back to it. Being told to go out there and do what she needed to do, but please, no more ad libs (yeah, ok), no more stunts. Just do say what you need to say and we'll go from there. She nodded her head as they went on, but she had no intention of listening to them at all. Where was the fun in that? She had been making a habit of going against the grain, and it seemed to always produce wonderful results. Some might not agree with it (and she knew who), but it was working, and when something's working, she was always told when she was younger, don't try to fix it. So she didn't. She skipped out to the ring as her music blared, all smiles, before entering the ring and grabbing a microphone. What was originally supposed to be a promo between her and Daniel, went out the window when she called the apple of her eye out to the ring.

She watched him walk slowly down the ramp (she would have been glad to find out it was because of his still sore back), hands on his hips, a slightly amused, slightly pissed look on his face. She knew he was pissed, but she didn't care. She was a girl on a mission, and she knew she couldn't stop till she had reached her goals and got what she wanted. She rambled on to him, ignoring his comment about how this was getting ridiculous (which it wasn't), and kept going until she got on one knee...and proposed to him. Like it was no big deal. Which, to her, it wasn't. She had fantasies, dreams of a day where that happened. Sure, it was the other way around, with him proposing to her, but she wasn't gonna complain about the role reversal. It was all part of her plan. The look on his face brought her endless joy - confusion, shock, hints of anger, and in general, everything about his face and movements screamed _'WTF is going on!'_. It made her brim with happiness to see how she was getting to him. She knew it was pissing him off too.

Doing that brought out Daniel, who then got on his knee...and proposed to **her.** Seeing this brought memories flooding back into her head. When they had first started dating off screen, everything went as swimmingly as she could have hoped. Daniel was a gentleman and treated her like a lady, and one night as she fell asleep in his arms, she thought that, yeah, maybe she could end up married to a guy like Daniel one day. But of course, as the story went on, he had won the World Heavyweight Title a few months later, and his attitude took a turn for the worse. With the title came the pressure of being one of the faces of the company, and though it translated well on screen for him, behind the curtain, it was ruining their relationship. Eventually, after a night of crying after a particularly bad argument, he apologized, but not before telling her that maybe, just maybe, they should call it quits before anything else happened. So sure, the break-up was amicable. Did it suck? Of course it did. Having to go through it on screen in the manner in which they did didn't help either. And now everyone was calling her crazy because of it. She **wasn't**. They were the crazy ones, she kept telling herself. **They** were.

So yeah, the irony of the situation was delicious. It set up everything for the end of the show, where she and Punk teamed up against Daniel and Eve. Getting the pinfall over Eve was especially gratifying, because behind the curtain, Eve had become something of...well, she had become a huge bitch, and it was rubbing the girls the wrong way. After the match, he told her that he didn't care if he lost the title, but he wasn't gonna marry her, and that he cared enough about her to tell the truth. And it was something in the way that he delivered that last line that caught her a bit off guard...and gave her a sliver of hope. She had felt that sliver of hope during their little lunch date over the weekend too. Inside, she was bursting at the seams with joy. But she had to go ahead and slap the taste out of his mouth, and she didn't hold back when she did. The look on his face was filled with furious anger, but that was expected. When she did it to Daniel, the crowd went nuts and started the **'YES!'** chants along with her as she skipped away, both men confused and exasperated and not knowing what the hell to do.

She couldn't let it end there, though. She had been developing a habit of ditching Punk immediately after the shows had ended. Not tonight. So as soon as he made it backstage, she appeared from behind a crate and surprised him, causing him to drop his championship. She remembered the coversation word for word...

"Wow. You didn't leave three seconds after we went black. I'm kind of impressed."

"I wanted to talk to you...it couldn't wait."

"That's funny, because I've been wanting to talk to you, but every time I try-"

"I know, and I'm sorry for those times, but this is different. By the way, I hope I didn't slap you that hard. I saved that all for Daniel."

"Oh, well, you know. I get slapped by crazy chicks on a daily basis. It's nothing new for me, really."

The sarcasm was dripping from each of his words and she could see the mark that her hand had left on his face under the light. Not to mention that he kept rubbing the spot where her hand connected every few seconds. "What's so different about tonight as opposed to the other times you've just gone and skipped away? Why should I think that you won't do the same thing the second I turn my back?", he asks, a burning desire in his eyes.

Instead of answering his question directly, she grabbed his hand and began to drag him down the steps of the Gorilla position to a secluded area of the arena that she had found earlier. After walking for a few minutes, she released her hand from his and looked up into his eyes, getting mixed readings from them, but that would be expected if a girl slapped you then took you to an empty part of the arena to be alone. "What do you want?", he asked.

"Listen, I know that things have been...hectic these last couple of months, the last few weeks especially. And I also know that I haven't been...very forthcoming with everything. And you're going to San Diego for Comic Con and I'm going back home to New Jersey until Saturday but..."

She grabbed his face and pulled it down, crushing her lips against his. What made her squeal with joy was the fact that he didn't attempt to stop her from doing this, and he was kissing her back just as hard as she was with him. After a few more seconds, they pulled apart for air, both of them breathing raggedly.

"Come to New Jersey after you're done with Comic Con. Here's my address. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

And before he could get another word in edge-wise, she stuffed the piece of paper with her address on it in his hand and skipped away. She shook her head, grinning, as she remembered everything. Grabbing her phone to check the time and her messages, however, caused the grin to disappear. It had been a whole day and a half since she that little moment in the bowels of the Pepsi Center in Denver...and she hadn't heard a thing. That was alright, she reasoned. He was busy at Comic Con all the way out there in San Diego, and he didn't have the time to be on his phone at all moments. She had nothing to worry about. He'd come to her when he was well and ready to do so.

The doorbell rang, startling AJ and knocking her from her dreamy little haze. "Who could that be?", she said to herself as she rose from her couch, her dog following her to the door. Unlocking it, she swung open the door to find Kaitlyn, a grin on her lips as she waved to her former chick-busting tag partner. AJ wore a quizzical look on her face as she opened the door for her friend and let her into her apartment, her dog seeing the blonde and running up to her.

"Oooh there's my favorite boy, there he is", Kaitlyn said as she knelt down to rub him behind his ear as he rubbed up against her legs, obviously liking the attention. AJ, however, was still wondering why she had unexpected company over.

"Hey Kait...um, not that I don't mind you being over, because I totally don't...but what exactly brings you over?", she asked as her blonde headed best friend stood back up and met her face to face, the two girls reading each other's faces for something that they weren't quite sure they were going to find.

"Can we talk for a few minutes, AJ?", the blonde asked as they began to move away from the front door toward the couch. AJ nodded her head, and soon enough, the two of them were sitting next to each other, both of them waiting for the other to speak first. Kaitlyn was the first to break the ice.

"How've you been, girl? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Um...wasn't it you who dragged me out of the arena last week because you and Derrick had a fight?"

"True. By the way, thanks for helping me get through that. We made up, so everything's fine."

"Kaitlyn, why are you really here?", AJ finally asked, growing increasingly tired of her best friend beating around the bush. "If this has anything to do with-"

"You know why I'm here, AJ, so don't try to cop me out on anything lame and tell me that you know what you're doing, because...because I _don't_ think you do know what you're doing."

AJ sighed and rolled her eyes; she had heard this lecture one too many times before, and frankly, it was starting to irritate her. How so many people thought that they knew what was best for her, trying to change her, telling her that she needed help...it was all nothing but white noise to her. Ever since the break up with Daniel, it had been more of the same, and she didn't need to hear it anymore. She wasn't crazy. They were the crazy ones. They were.

"Oh, so now you don't think I'm in control of my actions? The line just keeps getting bigger and bigger with each passing day, doesn't it?", she said aloud, mostly to herself as her best friend gave her an odd look. "Listen, I don't need my supposed best friend telling me that I've gone off the deep end. I get it in every direction from everyone, and it's getting to the point where it's not funny anymore, it's starting to make me mad."

"How can you sit here and tell me that you're in control of what you're doing? You wore a Kane mask and started prancing around like a psycho. You nearly hurt Vickie in that battle royal. And then you, oh I don't know..._shoved the WWE Champion and the number one contender through a table!_ Then you kiss both of them and screw with their heads even more, and then you **PROPOSE** to Punk!"

"And what's wrong with all of that?"

Kaitlyn stopped herself from saying something to take a good, long look at her best friend. She noticed something in her eyes, in her body movements, and even in the way she smiled; this girl was legitimately crazy. She thought back to when AJ and Daniel had broken up, how hard she had taken it...good lord, just how hard was this a driving force behind her behavior?

"Is this...is this all because of what happened with you and Daniel? When you two broke up? Is that why you've been acting so erratically and flying off the handle, doing what you want, putting others at risk? Is that why you're going against the grain so much? To prove a point, whatever that point may be?"

AJ's eyes darkened. Her lips were pursed tightly together, and she slowly craned her neck to face her friend, head tilted sideways, a look of death on her face. For all Kaitlyn knew, she was going to snap again and recreate The Shining right there in her tiny living room, so naturally she found herself inching back a little bit to put some semblance of space between them. But just as suddenly as the brunette's mood had changed into something creepy and scary, she snapped out of her funk and plastered a smile across her lips. It still didn't put Kaitlyn at ease.

"I got over my break up with Daniel a long time ago", AJ said as she tilted her head to the other side. "So what if he was my first real, true love? He didn't care for me once he won the World Title. I was second place to that, a warm body for him to lash out at when things didn't go according to plan. But to say that this is because of my break up with him is...laughable. Asinine. What I do, and what I will continue to do, has absolutely nothing to do with what he did to me. Got it?", she continued on, her voice rising in volume with each spoken word, that scary, crazy-killer look back on her face as they were now almost touching, nose to nose.

But just like before, she snapped out of it and recoiled back to where she was sitting, that smile back on her lips. "Now if you don't mind, Kait, I'm expecting some company and I need to make sure my humble abode is nice and receptive enough to who will be visiting me. So please, again, if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave."

All Kaitlyn could do was slowly and weakly nod her head as she quickly got up and exited her supposed best friend's home. "What the hell did I just witness?", she silently asked herself as she got to her car and drove off to the airport. To say that she was obviously spooked and deeply worried at the same time was like saying that Michael Myers only killed a couple of people.

"That girl really is as crazy as everyone makes her out to be..."

**xXx**

Thursday had come and gone without so much as a text from Punk. She still didn't find herself worrying, even as the sun had begun to fade and darkness overtook the New Jersey skies. Her place looked as good as it was going to get, and he still hadn't called or anything. She had been killing time since her little encounter with Kaitlyn on Wednesday by playing video games, checking her Twitter here and there, messing around with her new computer, playing with her dog, going to the comic book store...anything to take her mind off of the slowly impending circumstance that she didn't want to have to face.

Punk was going to ditch her this time. She didn't have anyone to blame but herself, and the irony wasn't lost on her, much like it wasn't on Monday when she was slapping the crap out of Daniel. Maybe she came on too strong for her own good after Raw on Monday night. But how could that be a turn off? He said it repeatedly. He dug crazy chicks.

It was getting close to midnight...and he still hadn't called or texted her. Sure, he had mentioned her, in passing, at Comic Con, she found out through Twitter, and had even complimented her. But he was just being nice, putting on a brave face, hiding his true feelings about her. She yawned. She had to catch a super early flight to Tucson for the Supershow that would be the last show before Money In The Bank. Her defining moment. What good would it be if the apple of her eye wasn't here to share it with her.

Just then, she heard something that sounded like a knock on her door. Yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she padded over to the door and opened it and...

"I'm here. So talk."

She couldn't believe it. He had actually shown up. A million and one emotions began to course throughout her body, happiness being the biggest one. She didn't even say anything to him. She leaped forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. All the while, Punk found himself doing the same thing, hugging her back, muttering to himself that this girl was crazy. She happened to hear it, but she ignored it.

She wasn't crazy. Not when she had everything she ever wanted right in front of her.

* * *

**Well that's it for that! Hope everyone enjoys Money In The Bank and hopefully we'll see what we all wanna see! Chapter five should be up sometime on Wednesday. Hope you all liked! **


	5. money in the bank

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter five...and before I get into anything else, I have to say, while the PPV was great, and the match was great...Raw greatly disappointed me. I'm hoping that Punk crashes the wedding, but it's wishful thinking. Hopefully this will take some minds off of that heartbreaker. It's a little longer than the other chapters, but I felt it had to be. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"I can't believe I talked myself into doing this..."

He kept muttering that same sentence to himself over and over as he navigated the streets of Tucson en route to the arena for the Supershow tonight. When his eyes weren't focussed on the road ahead of him, they kept wandering to the tiny, petite brunette in the passenger seat. AJ. They hadn't said much to each other since they woke up for their flight out here. When he arrived to her apartment in New Jersey in the wee hours of the morning, he was dead tired, having flown in from San Diego, where he spent the last two and a half days at Comic Con, doing appearances and meeting fans, etc. Generally speaking, he had an awesome time. So naturally, that meant that the high he had been on that Comic Con gave him was going to disappear the second he showed up at her doorstep.

And to a degree, he was right. When she had promised to tell him everything that he wanted to know if he showed up to her place in Jersey, part of him wanted to believe her this time around (especially given the kiss she planted on him out of nowhere...one that he enjoyed, again, but wouldn't dare tell anyone that he did), but the eternal pessimst that he was told him that she was bluffing, and that he'd be wasting his time if he showed up. When he showed up at her door, she jumped him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug that she seemingly didn't want to let go of. When he was finally able to pry her arms off of his waist, he stepped into her apartment and she couldn't stop gushing about how he had actually shown up and how happy she was to have him here, in her apartment, and she kept going on to the point where he had to very calmly tell her that he had dealt with enough fangirls at Comic Con, and that he didn't fly out here to Jersey to deal with another one. She then proceeded to apologize profusely for her behavior, but right as she was about to get to talking, she realized the time and said she needed to get some sleep. All Punk could do was watch as she skipped (did she skip everywhere?) down the hall to her room, hearing the door click shut.

It took everything in his power to not punch a hole or three through the walls in her apartment.

He didn't get any sleep (no surprise there), and the two of them barely said anything to each other en route to the airport, or on the flight over, and it was still more of the same as he continued to drive. He had wanted to flip out on her last night, and a small part of him still wanted to just lash out right now, consequences be damned. But something in his head told him that it would be in his best interest to not fly off the handle. But it wasn't his head that was the driving force behind that decision...he stopped himself for a second. That feeling that had been in the pit of his stomach just a week ago, when he was in the park trying to talk to her, when he was out in the ring with her and she slipped him her tongue and then giggled like a school girl after the fact, was slowly rising up from the depths of his stomach. And this time it wasn't going away. He tried to change the subject in his mind to something, anything that didn't involve the girl sitting right next to him, but it wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? He almost didn't want to find out the answer to that question.

There was just no way. Nope. Not one. Not a chance in hell. He couldn't. He just couldn't. He was fooling himself. His mind was playing tricks on him. I mean, hell, she had been playing mind games with him for the better part of the last two months or so, whose to say his head wasn't doing the same to him right now? That's what it was, he thought to himself. His head was playing games with him right now. Simple as that. Simple. As. That.

He glanced over at her, and as he did this, she managed to catch his eye. When she did, she gave him a little smile, a genuine one, not one where it made you think if she had an axe hidden somewhere. And the second she smiled, his stomach felt like it had done a god damn somersault. Closing his eyes, he began to curse himself out under his breath, and it was then that he came to a sudden, almost harsh realization.

He was developing feelings for the girl. He couldn't believe it was happening, but he really was. Not feelings like she'd be a great friend to have around at all times. No, feelings like 'I wonder if she'll just make out with me randomly again'. All she had done was smile at him and he felt it. He wanted to kick himself in the face as hard as he possibly could right now. He glanced at her once more, thankfully she didn't notice it this time, and he shook his head. How could he let this happen? He was beyond pissed at himself. Beyond pissed. Hadn't he learned his lesson from previous relationships that he had gotten into because of the work place? This wasn't happening again.

AJ yawned and began to stretch her arms in an attempt to make sure she didn't fall asleep on the car ride there. Looking over at Punk, who had a scowl on his face as he kept his eyes looking ahead, probably from not sleeping much (or at all) and then having to drive once they got off the plane...she decided to get a little bold. She had done nothing BUT be bold with the WWE Champion as of late. Leaning to her side, she placed her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. This was something she could get used to. He looked down at her when he felt her head on his shoulder, and he just about wanted to scream unholy bloody murder.

"This is nice, isn't it?", she asks, her head still remaining in place on his shoulder. "Just you, me, and the open road. Nothing more."

Punk turned his head back to face the road, before muttering something under his breath. AJ heard it and looked up at him, confused. "What was that? Did you say something?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled. Might as well get it off his chest, he thought to himself. "Yeah. I said it'd be a lot nicer if you told me what you promised with all your heart that you were gonna tell me."

"All in due time...all in due time."

That was it. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Pulling the car over onto the side of the road, he threw it into park and unbuckled his seat belt, turning to face her with the look of death in his eyes. And there she was, giving him a puzzled look, not worried in the slightest bit that he could begin to rip into her. She wasn't worried about that.

"Alright, maybe this is overdue, maybe it's my own damn fault for not saying anything of this extent earlier, but I'm just gonna come out and say it...what the fuck is your problem?"

"I don't know what-"

"Don't even! Don't even start with that bullshit, AJ, because you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've got serious problems! You...you prance around, all smiles and flowers and rainbows, but you don't realize what you're doing! I don't watch **ONE** match of yours, and that gives you the right to give the finger to what's supposed to happen and shove me through a table? Not mentioning that you kissed me before you did that? Then you kiss me and slip me your tongue like it's no big deal **AFTER** you kiss my friend like you used to when you were dating him, and just this past week, you **PROPOSE** to me? I don't know what the fuck to think anymore, AJ. You tell me you want to talk, then you skip out of the arena. Then you tell me you want to talk **AGAIN**, for real this time, but now it's all in due time? And this is on top of all the other crap you've been doing for the last two months...I just..."

He let out a bit of a scream and punched the hood of the car. Now she was worried. Flashes of what happened between her and Daniel when things went south began to run through her head, and it scared her to no end that Punk was probably seconds away from flipping out once more. She didn't know what to do; she hadn't expected this outburst of emotion, of pure rage, from him. It wasn't in her grand scheme of things. This legitimately was freaking her out. The look in his eyes wasn't like him; it was almost as if someone else had taken over his body, and in his place was some...vengeful, pissed off man who looked like he was ready to start killing things. She recoiled in her seat, not knowing what to do or say. What could she say? He'd probably start screaming again.

By now he was beginning to calm down a little bit. She did the first thing that came to her mind, reaching with her hands to touch his tattooed forearm, trying to get him to cool off some more. She didn't dare look him in the eye, keeping her eyes focussed on where her hands were. "Listen...I'm...I'm not going to sit here and apologize, and tell you that I'm sorry...I mean, I am, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here...all I'm asking is...please...please just be a little bit more patient with me."

Everything that she wanted to say to him, everything she wanted to reveal...she thought it'd be so easy to spill her guts out to him. But it wasn't. She was finding that out rather quickly, and it was throwing a wrench into her plans. She didn't like it when wrenches were thrown into her plans but right now, she was going to have to live with it. There was a difference between acting how something would play out and actually having the courage to act it out in front of the person you wanted to hear it. He heard her words and looked into her eyes, almost like he was looking through them, searching to see if she was really being honest with him, or if this was another one of her mind games. All he could do was nod his head. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Turning the car back on, he sighed. He had every reason, it felt like, to be furious with her...but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He hated how he was feeling about this girl right now. She had put him through more hell than any of his ex-girlfriends had combined, and they weren't even dating. And here he was, with growing feelings for her. It just didn't make any sense to him, none at all.

After about another hour on the road, they finally arrived at the arena and quickly parked in the back. They saw a few of the stage hands and road crew and waved politely to them, but soon enough, they reached a fork in the road, so to speak. "Well, we're here. I've gotta get to the dressing room and-"

"Would you mind if I tagged along and stayed with you in your dressing room? I kinda don't feel like talking to any of the girls today. I mean, if it's ok with you."

"You...want to camp out in my dressing room. Don't you think it'd be a little odd if someone said something?"

"Please?"

He thought about it for a brief moment, but then relented. He motioned with his head for her to follow him, and she let out a little squeal of happiness as she followed behind him as closely as possible. Neither one of them spoke as they worked their way down the many halls of the arena, finally getting to the door of the room and walking in. She placed her bags in the corner opposite where Punk had put his belongings. She smiled up at him, and he returned it with a grin and a shake of his head. He still couldn't believe he found himself developing feelings that weren't platonic or 'You're really crazy, please step away before I call the cops'. But mostly platonic...he thought. He found himself checking the time on his phone, and he realized that he had to get to the little meeting he had set up with Daniel and Kane so they could go over their match tonight. He saw that AJ was sitting cross-legged on the floor, much like he would, and he shook his head again. What was it about this girl that made him tick? Why did she make him tick? More questions on top of the ones he already had, and go figure...no closer to finding any answers. Continuity. What a concept.

"Hey listen, I gotta go talk to Kane and Daniel about our match real quick...you alright being in here alone? I'm not gonna come back to you skipping around in my trunks or anything, am I?"

She laughed and his stomach did another somersault, at which point he dug his nails into hand to the point where he felt he was going to draw blood. He was going to have to come to grips with this, and fast, or else some poor wall was going to file charges against his fist.

"I'll be fine...don't worry about me. I'll be right here waiting."

He snorted a second, surpressing a laugh. "Gotta love crazy chicks", he muttered to himself. "Gotta love them." What he didn't know was that she heard him, and upon hearing it, she walked up to him and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek, before pulling away and smirking as she went to her side of the room. After he left, she fell onto the ground and beamed with happiness. She didn't care that she had just told him to be a little more patient with her, she felt like she could tell him everything right now. And that's exactly what she was going to do as soon as he got back. And then her fantasies and dreams would come true. She couldn't wait.

After he left the room, he walked down the hall and thankfully ran into both Kane and Daniel, greeting them both with handshakes and customary hello's and how are you's. They began to dissect what they were going to do tonight, trying to mix it up from the last time they were all in the same ring together, while all their big spots were spread out over the course of the match. After a few minutes, Kane's phone rang, and the big man had to excuse himself to take the call, leaving the two old indy schmucks, as Punk liked to call him and Daniel. "So, question for you, man."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"What's going on between you and AJ?"

Punk suddenly found himself beginning to tense up. Why did he want to know what was going on? Was he stalking them? Nah, Punk thought to himself, no way his friend would do that. But why the sudden interest in his business? It was interesting and a tad confusing, to say the least.

"I don't know, to be completely honest. It's a wide range of emotions, there's just been so much going on as you obviously know...so again, I don't really know, but I feel like I'm getting closer to finding out what I need to know. Why, thinking of trying the whole relationship thing out with her again?", he asked with a chuckle. When Daniel didn't immediately respond, the grin on Punk's face fell and he quickly put two and two together. A sudden sense of anxiousness washed over his body, and his fingers began to twitch rapidly and nervously. He was joking, right?

"I've been thinking about it a lot, man. After SmackDown last week, it felt like we had that old spark when we first started dating last winter...I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but I'm seriously thinking about seeing if she'd be willing to give it another try."

His hands were now clenched into fists, and he had tensed up to the point where even the slightest twitch probably would have made him explode. "Why the sudden change of heart?", he asked through slightly gritted teeth.

"I screwed up with her man. She's a great girl, really sweet, kind, loving...she's just awesome to be around. I just want to make things better and try and see if we can capture what we once had before I became such an ass...would you be alright with that?"

"Hell no I wouldn't be", he thought to himself. But the words wouldn't leave his mind and exit his mouth. Oh he wanted to say no so bad. Things were getting to where he wanted with AJ, and now Daniel wanted to try and rekindle an old flame? Just as he was finally getting somewhere with the crazy chick sitting in his locker room? Right as he was developing feelings for her? This was absurd. But as much as he wanted to say no to his old friend...he just couldn't. "We're not dating. It doesn't matter to me if you want to do that...it's your perogative. I don't care. Go ahead. She's in my room, I'll take you there."

Why he wasn't stopping any of this, he didn't know. He should be stopping it. He should be telling Daniel that he shouldn't bother trying. But he didn't. He led them there, and when he opened the door, the first thing he saw was AJ standing there in the middle of the room, beaming, smiling, looking like she had won the lottery or some shit like that. But the smile disappeared when she saw Daniel walk in behind him. She looked to Punk and gave him a questioning look, but he didn't look her directly in the eye. He closed his own and sighed as the words regrettebly came out. "Danny Boy here wants to talk to you about something. It's probably best if you guys do it where you can be alone."

So he moved aside and let Daniel take AJ by the hand and lead her out the door. Sadness was written all across her face as she glanced one last time over her shoulder at Punk, but he still wouldn't look her straight in the eye. He muttered a goodbye under his breath, the door clicking shut. He looked up at the ceiling and then exhaled deeply. He knew he was making a mistake. He knew that the feelings he was still developing weren't going to go away, they would eat away at him, but he couldn't shove them aside. "Way to go, Phil", he muttered to himself as he paced around the room before sitting down and getting himself ready for his match tonight.

A few hours later, after his match and the show had come to a close, he returned to his dressing room, hoping to find AJ still there, waiting for him, so he could explain what happened earlier, and get some more things off his chest, then let her tell him what she wanted to tell him so desperately. But once he got there and swung the door open, the place was empty except for his things, which, it looked like, she had packed neatly for him before leaving. He shook his head, the disappointment etched clearly across his face as he changed out of his gear and into his street clothes before leaving. As he was walking towards the bus (he let Kofi borrow it whenever he was on tour with SmackDown instead of Raw), out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daniel leaving...and AJ wasn't that far behind him. He felt his jaw clench shut as he walked them leave together. Neither of them saw him, so he decided it'd be best if it stayed that way. He didn't notice AJ looking over her shoulder at him, the sadness still present as she quietly got into the car with Daniel.

**xXx**

He woke up on Sunday, not with his impending title match against Daniel on his mind, but on AJ. The entire day, his thoughts were spent thinking about what happened between the two of them after they left the Supershow, what they might have done, what they talked about, all that crap, and it was irritating him that he couldn't properly focus on his damn title match. He knew he blew it with her, but he didn't know if it was the right thing to do, to seek her out or not. Ever since he had arrived here in Phoenix, he shut everyone out and kept to himself. Even mild mannered Kofi, his road wife, felt his wrath as soon as the bus parked at the arena. "Don't follow me, don't talk to me, don't fucking bother me! Worry about your partner and whether or not he's gonna break his damn foot again!", was what he said to the other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions. And to anyone else but Kofi, they'd have probably taken massive offense to that, but he knew his friend and fellow road wife better than most. He knew that AJ was on his mind, as was his title match, and mix the two together and you've got a crabby and pissed off CM Punk.

He hadn't heard anything from anyone about Daniel or AJ, and truthfully, it was kinda killing him on the inside. "Fuck it", he murmured to himself, standing up from the chair he was sitting on. "I'm gonna go look for her. This shit's gone on long enough."

Exiting the locker room, he made a sharp left down the hall towards the Diva's locker room, and when he reached it, he knocked on the door, unlike his previous visit where he nearly Hulk smashed it down. And instead of getting Kaitlyn, this time he got Beth, and a sigh escaped his lips. This wouldn't be fun.

"What're you doing here?", she snapped at him. He had expected that but it didn't deter him from his goal.

"Listen, I'd love to sit here and reminisce and sing kumbaya with you, but I'm looking for AJ. Is she in there? And if she is, can I talk to her?"

"She's not here", she replied back, a sneer on her face. She saw the hint of disappointment in her ex-boyfriend's face and reveled in it. "Aw, what's the matter, Phil? Chasing after yet another basket case? I mean, that's what you do, right? You dig crazy chicks. What a crock of shit."

He gave her a hardened glare, staring daggers through her face. "If you didn't get your balls cut off when you had your sex change, I'd knock your teeth down your throat. I knew this would be a waste of time", he then said, turning around and hightailing it down the opposite hallway, leaving a stunned and agitated Beth Phoenix stuck in her tracks. As he searched frantically for AJ, he kept coming up empty, until he reached the last door at the end of the hall. Figuring it was worth a shot, he pushed it open, and...

"AJ."

She turned around at the sound of his voice, and for a second he swore he saw her smile, or at least fight back one. She looked relieved to see him, but also looked...upset. He had to rectify this situation. "Listen, I'm gonna cut straight to the chase here...I don't know what I was thinking yesterday, letting you leave with Daniel...he told me he wanted to try and make things right with you, and I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to let it happen without saying anything. I should have just done what you asked me to do...I should have been more patient with you. I'm sorry. This is all on me."

She didn't say anything to him. Instead, she just stared at him, looking like she was either on the verge of tears, or ready to pounce him and leap into his arms. But all she did was merely shake her head, a lost, almost forlorn look on her face as she glided past him and walked out the door. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw shut, grabbing a chair that was nearby and slamming it into the ground out of frustration.

**xXx**

The match came and it was show time. About five minutes in, Daniel, as he was supposed to do, shoved him into AJ as she was on the apron, sending her sprawling. Except Daniel had shoved him a lot harder than expected and she looked legitimately hurt. Sliding out of the ring, he stood over her and asked if she was alright, apologizing for nailing her with an errant elbow. She looked up at him and murmured words that stung him more than any chop to the chest or kick to the head. "That'd be the second time in twenty four hours you've hurt me." He was speechless.

After she had been taken to the back, him and Daniel proceeded to put on a classic. They beat the ever loving shit out of each other, but they trusted each other enough to be stiff and realistic. 10 years on the indies does that to two guys. Eventually, AJ made her way back out to do her job refereeing the match, and there came a point in the match that neither of them would forget. After Punk had nailed Daniel with a GTS and was slow to the cover, Daniel kicked out, and Punk found himself face to face with her, a confused, worried look on her face as he stared at her, his body wracked in pain and his breathing heavy. And all he said was seven words that nearly sent her off an emotional cliff once again.

"I hope this was all worth it."

The rest of the match was a blur to both of them, and the end came with Punk giving Daniel a back body drop off the top rope through a table, a move that shocked AJ to no end, as she hadn't expected both of them to land with such force. She made the count after Punk slid his arm over Daniel's chest, and after, she sat right next to the two of them, right next to the carnage, crosslegged, looking up at the lights while Punk began to peel himself out of the wreckage. "I was gonna tell you", she said, her eyes still facing the lights as she sat there. "I was gonna tell you everything once you got back. Everything...it would have been great."

He heard her words, and mentally cursed himself out. But he couldn't show that right now...he had a celebration to get to. After thanking Daniel for the match and Daniel returning the favor, Punk got to his feet and yanked the WWE Title out of AJ's tiny hands, whispering harshly to her, "Backstage, you, me, we talk, after this." He saw her nod her head as she looked between her ex boyfriend, who was still laying in the carnage, and the (former?) apple of her eye. After celebrating a bit more, he made his way to the back first, and AJ soon followed, with Daniel being helped by referees to sell the match and the damage that took place.

So there they were, face to face. She sighed, took a deep breath, and started on. "Alright. Here we go...things have been, as you know, crazy. A lot of things have happened, some good, most bad...and I know that I've had a hand in almost all of it. But you have to believe me when I say that it was never my intention to hurt you...which sounds hypocritical considering I shoved you through a table...I just want to apologize about everything. I want to say so much more, but that can wait...what I really wanna say is..."

But before she could get the sentence out, Daniel came through the curtain, a huge smile on his lips. "AJ, great news!"

"What's that?", she asked nervously.

"They wanna do the proposal angle between us tomorrow night on Raw...it'll lead to us getting married on the one thousandth episode! They said we can do that, or if Punk here wants, we can continue the triangle...it's up to you, Punk", he said, motioning to his old friend.

This was a moment of truth for him. She was just about ready to burst at the seams with what she wanted to tell him, and he was glad he was this close but...and he really hated himself for this, but he couldn't deny his friend a chance to fix what he had broken. It was killing him to do this, but after giving it a moment's thought, he faced the two of them. He saw the hopeful look on Daniel's face, and he saw the same on AJ's. He knew it would cost him something that he might never get back...but he had to do it. Turning his head down so he wasn't facing them, his eyes on the floor, he delivered his answer.

"Go ahead...do the proposal thing. I'll move on...I'm the champ...I've ran my course in this story...so go and get hitched."

He practically felt like he heard AJ's heart shatter right before him, and he was the one to do it this time. He glanced at her and she looked like she was on the verge of tears, oblivious to Daniel's looks of glee. He nodded his head and bid them adieu, heading down the steps of the Gorilla and to his locker room when he realized something.

Fuck 'developing feelings', he said to himself. He was falling for the crazy chick. And he had just thrown it all away.

* * *

**And that's it! I felt like the end would be the perfect lead in to what we all had to witness on Monday night. Hope you all enjoyed! And to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story so far, thank you! It really means a lot. Hopefully we'll see what we want to see, and that's Punk crash the wedding. Fingers crossed!**


	6. go for it

**Hey everyone! So sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Work has been super busy as of late, and I've been getting home late at night so I had no energy to devote to this. But here it is! Hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long. Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

He found himself staring at the stars the entire time. It was the only thing in the world that was keeping him calm right now. The pay per view had ended a couple of hours ago, and most of the roster got together and went to a local club a few blocks away from their hotel, celebrating another successful pay per view. Naturally, everyone converged around Dolph, John and Sheamus, three of the four big winners at the event, everyone congratulating them on their efforts. But the WWE Champion had arrived and quickly disappeared from the pack, hanging out on the porch outside of the building, sipping on Pepsi and checking his Twitter real quick. He saw the outburst from fans and critics alike that his match with Daniel hadn't gone on last, in the traditional main event spot - that, of course, went to John once again - but he didn't care. He would wrestle anywhere on the card, first, last, in the middle of the show, it didn't matter to him. He had always managed to out-perform everyone, and thusly why he called himself...

"Best. In. The. World", he muttered to himself as he finished off his latest tweet. He took a swig of his Pepsi and then shook his head ruefully. "Best in the world at everything but figuring women out. Way to knock one out of the park tonight, slugger", he said to himself, disdain and disappointment ridden in the tone of his voice. What should have been a night to kick back, let off some steam and revel in yet another fantastic match with D-Bry, was anything but. There he was, alienating himself from everyone, going over what had happened between the two indy schmucks and the crazy chick moments after they were all behind the curtain. He kept shaking his head, mentally kicking himself in the head. He understood why he did it - D-Bry would do the same for him in a heartbeat - but a part (a large part, at that) wanted him to be selfish and tell his old friend to buzz off, that he had business with AJ that he needed to attend to. But he couldn't. As much of an asshole that he was at times (and he was, no doubt), he couldn't just stomp on his friend's desire to try and right what he had wronged, crushing AJ's heart and keeping his own feelings beneath the surface be damned. He still couldn't believe it, he thought to himself. He had begun to fall for the girl, and he shunned her and probably made her want to hate him for the rest of her life.

"It's for the best though", he whispered to himself. "They're better off without me mucking around in their shit. And I've gotta get back on track and focus on my title reign again", he then followed up with. "I'm the champion." Yet, as he spoke the words, he realized that he didn't feel like much of a champion anymore. Sure, his place in the record books and the big gold title (he hated calling it a belt...it was a title, not a belt) he wore around his waist every night confirmed that he was, indeed, a champion, but strip away the allure and mystique, and that's all they were - books and a title. Upon arriving at his locker room after the little talk, he looked down at the WWE Title and threw it agains the wall in anger. A couple of months ago, hell, even a few weeks ago, when everything really started to hit the fan, he would've never dreamed of doing that to the most prestigious title in all of wrestling. He watched it soar through the air, as if in slow motion, and he didn't care that he had just tossed the belt with the lineage that some of the greats and some of his idols and heroes had held in the past...Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, just to name a few...across the room with so little care for it, it shocked him. Was he really that torn up over a girl that he couldn't even stand the sight of the one thing he worked so hard to get after years of being stuck underneath the glass ceiling? Was the WWE Title really something that held almost no more importance to him?

The answer, he found out unsurprisingly, was yes (**yes! yes!**). AJ Lee was the thing he found himself caring about most, the tiny, geeky, nerdy, petite, brunette, spunky, crazy chick that, just a scant two weeks ago, shoved him through a table. And played mind games with him. And all the other shit he had been through with her over the last two and a half months. Somewhere, through it all, he had fucking fallen for her, and for the first time in his life and career, a girl came before wrestling. He couldn't believe this was happening to someone like him, but it was. And he hated her and himself for it. That was why he had 'set her free', so to speak. He had to get his focus back on his career...back on the title...back on being what he always said he was, the best in the world. Sure, it stung, saying no to continuing the story with her and Daniel, it stung like a motherfucker, but the sting would eventually fade away and he'd get over it. And she'd move on as well, and hopefully, she's find happiness with D-Bry again, and that would be the end of it. But somehow...

"Oy, Punky, what're ya doin' out here all by yer lonesome?"

His thoughts were shelved the second he heard the thick Irish brogue of the World Heavyweight Champion. Nursing a pint of Guinness in his hand, he walked out and slapped Punk on the back, joining him on the porch for a bit of fresh air. "Hey, Sheamo", Punk replied weakly. "I see you and your pal Mr. Guinness are getting reacquainted."

"Ah, it's a good time ta unwind an' let some steam off. Why ya out here? Ya should be in there with the rest o' us, celebrating. T'was a good event tonight, no?"

Either he didn't know about the shit that was surrounding him as far as the whole AJ/D-Bry front went, or he was being a friend and avoiding the topic. Either way, it didn't matter. Nothing was gonna get his mind off of what he had done for the forseeable future.

"Yeah, I suppose. Go out, kick ass, take names, outwork everyone, have the best match...rinse and repeat. Never gets old", he said, doing his best to sound a bit cocky. "You know me, big guy, I say it like it is", he then added, earning him an unimpressed look from the Great White followed up by a nudge to the arm.

"Everyone's wonderin' where ya been at, Punky. Ya just gonna stay out here an' be a lone wolf tonight?"

The WWE Champion shrugged his shoulders, taking a swig of his Pepsi, his eyes regaining their focus on the stars above. It was then that Sheamus realized that something was up. Much like everyone else that knew Punk, he wasn't stupid when it came to dealing with him and knowing why he would act moody like he did. He knew what was going on with him; that little lass AJ was swimming around his brain. Truth be told, he liked AJ; he looked to her as something of a little sister, and the two of them got along famously. But ever since she had broken up with Bryan, she had become distant from her friends; himself, Layla, Kaitlyn, Show, and so on. Oh sure, she still talked to them, but their conversations were few and far between. How Kaitlyn had gotten her to appear in the park two weeks ago to speak to Punk, how she hadn't gotten through to her with her little visit to AJ's apartment in New Jersey...he didn't know. And now he knew that the lass was at the forefront of Punk's mind.

"Penny fer yer thoughts?", he asked as he sipped on his Guinness, looking to get a reaction out of his friend and fellow champion.

Punk scoffed and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "If you're out here to talk about AJ, you'd be better off trying to find a picture of me drinking beer."

"Now why would I want ta bother ya about something like that?", the World Champion asked as he joined the WWE Champion in leaning over the ledge and looking up at the stars. He looked over at Punk and saw him roll his eyes. This was going to be as hard as he thought it'd be. Punk wasn't one to open up about stuff that bothered him, he knew this.

"Come on, man. I'm not dumb. I wasn't born yesterday. I know you're close friends, or you were at one point before she lost it, with her. You've seen everything happen, I'm sure of it. And on top of that, I saw you talking to Kofi about this earlier. So either say what you wanna say, or don't waste my time with it."

The Irish born grappler finished his beer and turned his eyes from the stars to the man standing next to him. A scowl was on his face, but his eyes were fixated above. He might as well try to start slow. "They're relaxin', arn't they?"

Punk snorted, his eyes never once wavering from their position on the dark, star covered skies. "They were far more relaxing until a giant red insect showed up."

Sheamus took the snide remark in stride, but quickly realized that there was no point to this conversation at all if Punk wasn't going to open up or at least let out a little inkling of how much this whole AJ situation was bothering him. He respected the man's privacy and friendship too much to try and pry away.

"Alright boy-o, I'll leave ya be. See ya tomorrow night for Raw", he said as he patted his friend and fellow champion on the back, turning around to head back into the club when he heard Punk call out to him. "Yeah, Punky?"

He took a deep breath, his head facing down and eyes closed. What he was about to say wasn't exactly easy, wasn't something he was used to doing. He hated looking vulnerable, letting his walls down so to speak. "You uh...you ever give something...or someone, away when you probably should have tried your hardest to hold onto it?"

A wistful smile crept across Sheamus' lips. Nodding his head, he walked back over to the Second City Saint, rejoining him at the ledge. "Yeah, fella, happened to me right b'fore I got called up ta ECW. Met a sweet little lass down in Florida, her name was Jeannie. Real sweet, down ta earth, all that stuff. We were datin' fer a while, we really hit it off. So one night, I invited her down ta a show one evening, and it just so happened that I got my bell rung and bled a waterfall that night. She saw me after the match, as I was gettin' my face stitched together, and she said she couldn't stand it if I came home like that to her, a bloodied an' broken up mess. So there she went, left me as I was still bleeding an' gettin' fixed up. I tried ta go after her, but that was that. Never saw or heard from the lass again."

Punk shook his head at the deepness of the Celt's words. He gave him a small, sympathetic grin (sympathetic for him, at least), putting his arm around the red haired brute's broad shoulders. "Damn, Sheamo. That's harsh. Never heard from her again?"

"Never heard from her again", he replied. "But it taught me a valuable lesson, that relationship. I'm sure ya heard it before too, it's tried and true. If ya really care, or dare I say, love, somethin', then go after it an' fight fer it. Fight fer it with all yer strength an' heart. But if it ain't meant ta be, then set it free. An', if ya don't mind me sayin', from what I heard, what ya did was pretty admirable. But don't try an' stop. If ya can't have her as what yer thinkin' of, then show the lass you care about her, be her friend. She's a good girl, that little AJ. Caring, full of life and whatnot. Just be there for her, even if ya can't have her on yer arm. It'll go a long way."

He looked at Sheamus for a brief moment, a chuckle escaping his lips as he turned his head back to look at the stars. He shook his head; the words that the big lug said were actually resonating within him, slowly breaking down his steely resolve and showing him what he didn't want to see; he never should have let the spunky little nerdy girl go. "Well I'll be damned", he muttered. "You actually said something halfway intelligent there, Sheamo."

"Same old sense o' humor", he replied with, slapping Punk on the shoulder again. "Think about what I said, Punky. An' yer welcome."

"Yeah...thanks", he said sincerely, waving good-bye to the World Champion as he too bid farewell, disappearing back into the club. And there he was, once more. Alone with the stars. He took a deep breath and sighed. He was going to have to sit on Sheamo's words. But he was alright with that.

**xXx**

Monday morning and afternoon had come and gone without anything happening. On the bus with Kofi and Truth first thing in the morning to head to Las Vegas for Raw that night, sharing stories about Money In The Bank the previous night was all the three men really did. Neither Truth or Kofi dared go where Sheamus had gone the night before and ask the WWE Champion about the whole situation with AJ. They both knew that it was best that they left it alone unless the man himself started talking about it, and they knew that there was no way he would just start babbling about it, no way no how. So for the most part, the three men rode in near silence, only talking about the pay per view here and there. Once they arrived to the arena in Vegas, Punk disappeared into his locker room for the majority of the day and into the evening, appearing only to go over everything with Show for what they were gonna do on the show. Having caught wind of what happened, everyone went out of their way to be extra cordial and respectful with him as he passed through the halls.

Seeing as he was still sitting on Sheamus' words from last night, he didn't bother to seek her out, or to even thank D-Bry for an awesome last few months of wrestling. He couldn't bear to stand the sight of the two of them, all happy and ready to go through with this wedding angle, the whole thing acting as if he wasn't involved with them for the past two and a half months. It was like he almost didn't exist in their little universe. Granted, he had a lot to do with that himself, but that wasn't the point. A small part of him was hoping that they'd have him crash the wedding next week on Raw 1000. But he knew it wasn't probably happening, especially since him and John Boy were going to tango once more.

A couple of hours later, the show started and he came out to the ring, his music blaring and the crowd giving him a warm reception. They wanted him to only mention Daniel and AJ in passing, and he did. He wanted to say so much more, but they agreed it'd be best to keep it at a minimum. So after everything happened between him and Show, the two of them laughing at Show dropping the microphone like a pipebomb, much like Punk would, he entered his room and saw Kofi and Truth watching everything unfold on the television, and as soon as he glanced at the screen, he saw AJ and Daniel. His teeth gritted together, jaw clenched shut, and his hands balled into fists, he stewed silently as he watched them. Seeing it happen made a whole host of emotions bubble under his skin. The Tag Champions were still watching when the two of them had their mixed tag match against Eve and Miz, and at that point, he looked like he was ready to begin Hulk smashing everything he saw. The match ended in short fashion, and as soon as Daniel began to speak, Punk muttered under his breath loud enough for Kofi and Truth to hear him.

"What'd you say man?"

"I said turn it off."

"Why do-?"

"I said, turn it off", his tone rising with each spoken word.

"Dude-"

**"I SAID TURN IT OFF!"**

Both men's eyes widened at the sudden burst of rage that the WWE Champion had shown. Without argument, Kofi quietly reached over to the TV and turned it off. His face red with veins popping out of his neck and his breathing becoming heavier and more ragged by the second, Punk closed his eyes and unballed his hands, taking a deep breath to exhale the anger that was residing within himself.

"Punk, do you want to-"

"No. Don't", Punk shot back quickly to Kofi. "Just don't." Right now, all he wanted to do was get the image of his old friend getting on his knee and proposing to the crazy chick that was swimming through every single one of his thoughts. Seeing the whole deal happen was infuriating enough, but talking about it would be to welcome death. Shaking his head, he exited the room and secluded himself from everyone to prepare for his match against Show later in the night.

The match came and though he obviously didn't show it when he was in front of the fans, the anger was dripping from his pores as he walked to the ring. When the bell rang, the two of them had the typical big man vs small man match, Show dominating most of it with Punk getting his offense in bursts. There came a point in the match where he did his signature running knee lift in the corner, and he damn near knocked Show's head off with it, he rocked him so hard. And Show, bless his giant heart, shook it off like it was nothing, whispering to Punk that it wasn't a big deal, he knew what was up, which Punk appreciated. The end came shortly thereafter, and soon enough, John came out with his briefcase and announced that next week, on Raw 1000, he was cashing it in to fight Punk for the WWE Title to end the show.

After the show was over, Punk made his way back to the locker room and fell down into a chair, the title being clutched tightly in his hands. Sweat dripped off of his nose and onto the center plate of the title, the giant 'W' that no longer spun. His back felt like it was on fire after that chokeslam, much like it had the night before when he went through the table. He was alone, staring blankly at the title, as if it was going to help him with what he was going through right now. The door to the room clicked open, but he didn't bother to look who had entered, nor did he care. A red briefcase then came into his line of sight and he felt John sit down next to him. _"Oh joy. This is going to be fun"_, Punk thought to himself.

"Hey Phil. How ya hanging?", John asked as he leaned back in his chair, removing his hat and placing it on his knee. "You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I don't sleep", he simply said, his eyes still on the title. He didn't even react to his birth name being dropped as casually as it was. There were far more important things to get worked up over than something as trivial as that.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush here with you, man. I know you've got her on your mind. What's the deal between you and her?", he asked, a serious expression taking over his face. Still, Punk never looked away from the title to look at John. It was as if he was a ghost. His focus was solely on the title in his hands.

"There's nothing going on. There never was anything going on between her and me. We worked together for a few months and I decided to move on from it. I'm the champ, if you didn't notice. I can afford to move onto bigger things. Doing the dance with you again seemed like the best thing for me to do. Simple as that."

"And I'd have believed you if you said that maybe two, three months ago. But you and I both know that that thing isn't the first and foremost thing on your mind right now", he said, his finger tracing the outline of the WWE Title. "Probably hasn't been for the last month or so, I'd wager. But you know, that's just me, someone on the outside looking in, observing what I see", John said effortlessly, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he put his hat back on his head and grabbed his briefcase, admiring it in all of it's dented and busted up glory.

Punk's eyes were still fixed on his title when he responded. "And what the hell do you know about relationships right now, John. Didn't you just finalize your divorce?", he spat back, a sneer on his face despite never looking away. John shook his head and bit his lip; he should have expected that. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at his opponent for next week. He knew that they weren't exactly buddy-buddy with each other, but he had a deep amount of respect for the man sitting next to him. And right now, Punk needed a friend, and John, putting their differences aside between the two, wanted to try and help the man out.

"Listen, I know that I'm not really in a position to talk about what a guy should do when it comes to a girl right now, and I probably won't be for some time. But that's life. One minute it's coming up roses, the next you've lost half of everything you've worked for. That's just how it plays out sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it. I thought Liz was the one, I really did. And for a while, it seemed that way. But she just couldn't handle the fact that my first real love was this. Wrestling, it's in my bones and my blood. And don't get me wrong, Phil...I loved Liz with all my heart. I tried my damndest to make it work. But this came between us...and I know this will sound crazy, but if anything was gonna come between me and her, I'm glad it was this and not something else."

Punk let the words sink in for a moment, and to say he was shocked that John was opening up to him of all people would be a bit of an understatement. They were, by no means, close friends. Sure, they talked here and there, they got along professionally and had tons of respect for each other, but they had their own crowds and hung out with different people. That this conversation was happening wasn't lost on Punk.

"You said wrestling."

"Excuse me?"

"You said wrestling. I can't ever remember a time where you classifed yourself as a wrestler. It's always _'sport entertainer'_ this, and_ 'sport entertainer'_ that. _'It's sports entertainment, not wrestling.'_ I don't think you've ever done that in the time I've known you."

"I know what I said, and I meant it. I'm a professional wrestler at the end of the day, I wrestle in a ring, and I entertain. But I'm a wrestler. And that's what happened. Liz, she wanted John Cena, the husband all of the time. And I tried to give her that man, I tried my hardest. But she couldn't live with the fact that I all I could really give her was John Cena, the wrestler. And eventually...all good things must come to an end."

For the first time since John had sat down next to him and began talking, Punk's eyes were lifted from the WWE Title, his head craned to the side, so he could look at 'Mr. Money In The Bank.' He stared long and hard at Cena, trying to see what his real motives were for this. But maybe, he thought to himself, he really was trying to be a friend right now, and extend an olive branch. "What's your point, John?"

"The point I'm making here is, is that while something good came to an end for me, it doesn't have to be like that for you. You can still make everything right between you and AJ. I know that you've warmed up to her. You probably didn't realize it till now, or whenever, but me, Sheamus, Kofi...we could tell, man. And she's head over heels for you, she always seemed to be. You should have seen the look on her face when they told her that she was going to be working with you, her eyes lit up like it was Christmas."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah, man. She came up to me and was like, 'John, John! What's it like working with Punk? Is he difficult? What should I expect?'. She's something, that little girl."

A rueful grin slid across Punk's lips. "Yeah. She sure is."

"All I'm saying is, Phil, is that you can still talk to her. Those feelings don't really go away. I know what you did last night after your match, and it was really great of you to do. But I know it killed you. Don't let it kill you. Talk to her. And if she's not here, then text her, call her. Make amends. Start over, and start slow. I'm sure she's waiting for your call. What I'm really saying is...go for it, Phil."

John then patted him on the shoulder, putting his hat back on and sitting up, grabbing his briefcase. As he went to exit the room, he felt a hand on his shoulder, getting spun around and facing Punk. The two men stared at each other for a few moments, before Punk extended his hand. John smiled, and shook his hand.

"Thanks, John Boy. I know we don't see eye to eye on a lot, but...thanks. I appreciate that."

"Don't think anything of it, Phil. I just want to see you not be so miserable all the time. She'll help fix that."

He grinned as he slapped John on the back, watching the man clad in green walk out, before turning around and grabbing his phone out of his bag. As he looked for her number, he came across two pictures taken recently when they flew from Jersey to Arizona over the weekend. One was with him sleeping, and her pointing at him and laughing. The next had her sleeping, except he took her finger and put it up her nostril, and he gave a thumbs up with a straight face. He then came across an old picture, taken a year ago. He smiled as he looked at it; it was after she had made it onto the main roster, and he was working a SmackDown show. She geeked out when she saw him and asked for a picture, and he obliged. He had a faux scowl on his face, and she couldn't have looked happier as she hugged him. Why had he given up on her? He still couldn't find a true, real answer. But he was going to change that. Finding her number, he took a deep breath and hit the call button. This was it.

"Hey AJ...it's Punk...I've got something that...I need to tell you."

* * *

**And** **that's the end of that! Next chapter will be up early in the week, after Raw 1000 and the wedding that most of us don't want to see. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Punk crashes it, but who knows. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **


	7. let's go to chicago

**Well, I'm still in a bit of shock after what happened Monday night. I mean, for three hours, Raw didn't drag on nearly as much as I thought it would have, and it did have it's cool moments. I marked out hard for the APA and JBL doing the Clothesline from Hell, and it was really awesome seeing DX together as one big family again, so to speak. That being said...AJ as GM? I'm hoping she makes it work. I have faith in her though, so I'm sure she'll be just fine. And Punk turning heel? Absolutely loved it. I think it's exactly what he needs going forward. Can't wait to see where they go from here. And here's chapter seven! Hope y'all enjoy. **

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

She stared at the voicemail icon on her phone. She had been doing this for days, her eyes barely leaving the bright lights that came from the screen when she looked at it. He had called her late Monday night, and she was going to answer it...until she saw Daniel walk in, so she ignored it and let it go to voicemail...and she hadn't done anything other than look at it since then. She was still wary of Daniel, waiting for the moment where he'd lash out at her like he used to, but it hadn't come (yet). He seemed to be really, really trying his best to make amends for what he did in the past, and she liked that he was enthusiastic about it...but her concerns and doubts still lingered under the surface. Why shouldn't they? A little under four months ago, the man ripped her heart out not once, but twice, and in no uncertain terms told her that he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Now she was supposed to believe, that in that short time frame, he had changed his ways? The whole thing raised her suspicions tenfold, but for now...she was going to let this all play out. Maybe he really _had_ changed, and everything would go back to how it was before he won the World Title. Then again, maybe he _hadn't_, and he was still a dickhead. Maybe...

She looked at her phone once more, the little message that said she had a missed call and voicemail from one CM Punk still staring her in the face. She so desperately wanted to answer his call, to hear his voice, to talk to him again. She contemplated excusing herself when it happened so that she could sneak down the hall and listen to the voicemail and call him back, but that wouldn't look suspicious at all, now would it? _"Oh I'm just checking my phone and calling back your friend because it's him I really want."_ Yeah, that'd go over reeeeealll well. She ended up not doing it last night, fearing that Daniel might snap if he caught her.

It was early Wednesday afternoon now, and she was alone in the hotel room, as Daniel had gone for a run. She kept looking at her phone over and over, debating on whether she wanted to listen and call him back or not. On the one hand...he had pretty much ripped her heart from her chest, thew it into a blender and turned it on frappe. But on the other hand...whatever bits and pieces she recovered from it still ached to be around him. She had never got the chance to tell him everything she wanted to, and she was regretting it every second of every day. The very games she played with him did the one thing she didn't think they'd do; bite her in the ass, and _hard_. She had so desperately hoped that he wanted to continue on with their program, but when he said that she and Daniel should 'get hitched', a small part of her died on the inside. Sure, that sounded a tad pathetic and a wee bit overdramatic, but it was true nonetheless. She had the world in her hands and now that very world was crumbling around her. And try as she might...she just...couldn't get excited about getting back together with Daniel. That ship had came and passed a long time ago. Part of her still had her major suspicions too. He went from being ok with a healthy, working relationship to now wanting to try things out again on a personal and intimate level, out of nowhere? Yeah, if that wasn't sketchy at all, then she didn't know what was.

So she lay there, her upper body resting against the headboard of the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV, finding nothing to divert her attention from her phone. She must've gone through at least forty to fifty channels, and she found nothing. She reached over and grabbed one of the magazines she had on the dresser, and began flipping through it, before tossing it onto the floor. There she was, playing with her thumbs, nothing to watch on TV and bored to death with her magazines. "Oh screw it", she said to herself as she grabbed her phone and quickly brought up the voicemail, pressing the phone to her ear to listen to it.

_"Hey AJ...it's Punk...I've got something that...I need to tell you"_, the message began. She heard him take a deep breath and mutter something she couldn't decipher under his breath before continuing on. _"I shouldn't have let you leave with Daniel on Saturday...I know I told you that on Sunday, you probably don't want to hear it again but whatever. It was selfless of me to do, but it was also stupid, because...AJ, I'm feeling things I haven't felt in a while, and I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but...I'm willing to find out. I've got a day off tomorrow...if you do too, then come with me to Chicago. And I know that'll probably seem very forward of me, but I don't give a damn at this rate. I want to hear what you've got to say to me, if you even have anything left to say...and I want you to hear what I've got to say. I messed up the other night, and I can understand if you don't want any part of this. I'm a big boy, I'll live with it. But the door is open...and I hope to hear from you soon. Later."_

The message ended and she removed her ear from the phone, looking at it for a second, almost as if it was going to grow legs and run away. She pressed play on the message and listened to it again, the same look on her face after it ended. She let every one of his words sink in, to the point where she muted the television so she could think about all of this in perfect silence. She ignored everything about him letting her leave with Daniel and how idiotic he was for that. He wanted her to come to Chicago. With him.** Alone**. In his **home town**. Just the two of them. No Daniel...no Kofi...no nobody. Just him. And her. If her life was a cartoon, a light bulb would have appeared above her head. Slowly placing her phone down on the dresser next to the TV, she took a deep breath...and then squealed in enjoyment, skipping around the small room, before throwing herself onto the bed. All the happiness that had been sucked out of her over the weekend was back, as if it was magically pumped back into her body. She quickly checked her schedule to see if she had a house show tomorrow, and not surprisingly, she didn't. She couldn't believe it. She was going to Chicago...with him! It was like the gods had shined back down upon her. Her luck couldn't have turned out any better. But then again...

"Luck is for losers", she whispered to herself as she stared at the ceiling, a grin beginning to tug at her lips. Many thoughts then began to race through her head. What was she going to wear? Casual? Her usual? Dress up all girly? What about her hair? How was she going to have it? What was she going to say to him? Well, she already knew what she was going to say to him, she had been been wanting to say the same thing to him for weeks now. How would she do it? The endless thoughts ran through her head, none of them more important than the fact that she was going to his home town and doing who knows what. They could go rollerblading through the streets with nothing on but their underwear on and she wouldn't care.

She hadn't heard the door open and click shut, she was so wrapped up in her own little world. Still staring at the ceiling, a face came into view; Daniel's. He had a puzzling look on his face, staring down at her as she kept grinning. "What's got you so happy?", he asked as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottled water. AJ stood up, sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, still grinning. "Huh? Oh, nothing of importance. Just a funny joke my brother told me", she lied effortlessly.

"What are you doing later?", he asked moved from the mini kitchen to the chair closest to the window, taking a seat as he looked out at the skies. He had something in mind and he was really hoping she'd be up for it.

"I don't know...Lay and Kait mentioned something about possibly getting everyone together for a girl's night, but I haven't heard anything...why, what's up?", she asked as she slid off the bed and walked over to the mirror, already checking her face for any unsightly blemishes that she didn't want Punk to see when she saw him tomorrow. Daniel must've said something, because she responded with a _'What?'_ as she spun around to face him.

"I asked if you'd like to go to dinner tonight. There's a really nice place about ten minutes from here, and it's on the waterfront so the view is great. How's that sound?", he asked, sounding hopeful that she'd accept, and he'd be one step closer to re-building the bridge that he had broken between them.

She thought about it for a minute, absent-mindedly twirling a strand of her brown tresses around her pointer finger. A nice dinner did seem...well, nice, even if she was still hella suspicious of Daniel and his motives...but after the last few months of pretty much alienating her friends, she wanted to see them and apologize for not being around. She felt she owed it to them. "Can I get back to you on that, Daniel? I wanna call Kait and see if there actually is anything going on between the girls tonight. If not, then dinner will be lovely", she said somewhat stiffly, a little too much for her taste.

His smile faded quickly into disappointment, but he covered it up as quickly as he could. He wasn't used to AJ making plans on her own...she'd always be up to doing whatever he wanted to do in the past. But there it was; that was the **past**, and this was the** now**. And now, she had become more hardened, more aware, less of a pushover and far, far more independent (not to mention clinically crazy, but that was another story for another day). "That's ok. Go do what you need to do", he told her, putting on a smile that seemed a little forced, and he knew it. She picked up on the fakeness of said smile as well, simply nodding her head before departing into the hall to call her (old?) friend, leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts.

This was harder than he had expected. Truthfully, a part of him had _almost_ expected everything to go back to the way they were when she agreed to room and ride with him. He'd suggest something, she'd automatically say yes, they'd do whatever it was, and then they'd come back to the room to have sex, which, believe it or not, she was quite adept at. Maybe it was just her wanting to please him at any cost, but she was...creative, when it came to the bedroom. But he wasn't all about that now. He wasn't facing the pressure of being World Heavyweight Champion anymore, and he could go back to not being a colossal dick, dragging the poor girl around like she was his property, and almost forcing sex upon her, and treating her like utter shit. No, he was going to prove to her that he had turned a new leaf, that he could be the boyfriend she needed all those months ago, that he could keep his temper in check, all of it. So yeah, he was really hoping that she would go to dinner with him. It'd be a great first step out of many towards proving to her that he was being genuine in his advances. Yeah, it was harder than he thought it'd be, but he was up to the challenge, and he'd show her that.

She slipped back into the room, phone clutched in her hand, watching as Daniel turned to face her, the fake smile gone in place of another hopeful look. She could see it in his body language that he was hoping that she'd accept his dinner proposition...and if she hadn't been put through hell by him in the past, and hadn't become a better person because of said experiences, and wasn't thinking that he was up to something, she'd have said yes in a heartbeat. But alas, it wasn't in the cards tonight. She had just gotten off the phone with Kaitlyn, and indeed there was something going on tonight. The two tone haired girl was more than surprised when she said that she'd love to join the girls for a night out, and frankly, she needed it.

"So, how'd that go? Good?", Daniel asked her, a bit too excitedly. It was like he was almost trying to be too happy for even the smallest things, and it only heightened her awareness more. She shrugged her shoulders and politely smiled back as she flopped down onto the bed again, grabbing the remote and beginning the task of flipping through the channels again.

"It was alright. Turns out they are doing something tonight", she said, feeling the hope slowly seep out through his pores with each word. "I feel really bad for not being around them recently, so I'm gonna go out with all of them...it's been a while", she added, and without even looking at him she could tell how dejected he was based on the length and volume of the sigh she heard. A part of her truly did feel a little bad for popping his balloon like she just did, but the rest of her knew that he deserved far worse than this after being put through the emotional wringer a few times. "Are you available for lunch on Friday afternoon before the house show?", she asked, hoping herself to make it up to him a little bit.

"You're not around tomorrow?", he asked in return, and she grinned. _'Nope. I'm going to Chicago and having the time of my life with the man I'm meant to be with',_ she thought to herself as she shook her head. "I'm going home and visiting my family, plus my aunt is out visiting them so I wanna see her too before she goes back to Florida. Is Friday not good for you?"

He shook his head dismissively. "No, it'll be fine", he added quickly. "I can drop my other plans, it's no problem", he said, observing the look on her face. "Don't feel bad, they're nothing important. Lunch on Friday will be fine."

"Daniel, you don't need to drop whatever other plans you have just to have lunch with me. I'd rather you keep them, I'd feel bad if you canceled yo-"

"I said, it's fine, it's not a problem", he shot back, his tone growing more agitated along with the look on his face. She inched back from her position on the bed even though he was nowhere near her. "I'm trying, alright?", he then said/asked, drawing a confused expression from her.

"What do you mea-"

"I said **I'M TRYING, ALRIGHT!**", he screamed. He clasped his hands across his mouth and closed his eyes almost immediately though, regretting what he had just done. He slowly reopened them to see AJ sitting on the bed, her lips pursed and a knowing look on her face. She nodded her head and got up, walking over to her belongings and grabbing a brush from her bag.

"I'm going to shower and then I'll be heading out with the girls. I'll see you later, Daniel", she said sternly, her lips pursed tightly together as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Once out of sight, she could hear him curse to himself, and she shook her head; he had done exactly what she was waiting for him to do, and that was lash out like he always did. With a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips, she shed her clothing as she stepped into the shower and turned the water on, letting Daniel and everything else regarding him melt away.

Tonight was going to be great. Tomorrow was going to be even better.

**xXx**

After a wonderful night out with the girls and everything being swept under the bridge, AJ woke up super early the next morning to gather her belongings and prepare herself for what was sure to be a wonderful day spent in good old Chicago. When she had awoken, Daniel was still sleeping, on his side and facing the opposite wall. She left him a note saying that she had taken an early flight back home and would see him on Friday afternoon before the house show.

She thought about what had happened before she left last night, replaying it over and over in her head. That it had taken him a few days to snap like he did was a mild surprise to her; she had expected him to fly off the handle Sunday night or even sometime Monday, but he hadn't. It didn't matter now, though. She was going to go to Chicago either way; him finally flipping his lid last night only proved to her that she made the right choice.

Reaching the outside of the hotel, she waved down one of the cabs and threw her things into the trunk before sliding into the backseat, her destination the airport. After the twenty minute drive, she gave the man her fare and grabbed her stuff, racing into the large building with all the energy of a pre-teen at a Justin Bieber concert, trying to cop a feel as he walks by. Eventually, she reached the front of her respective line, brimming with joy as she reached the teller.

"One ticket to Chicago, Illinois please."

"Alright, that'll be $146, and I need to see your identification as well please", the lady behind the counter asked while the diminutive Diva produced it. "Alright, let's see here...oh, you're the girl from WWE, right? The crazy one?"

A small smile appeared on AJ's lips as she slowly nodded her head. "Yup, that's me. The resident crazy chick of the WWE."

"My daughter loves you. She skips around our house all the time like you do on TV", the lady said, smiling at her, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "Well, your daughter has wonderful taste then", she commented back, the two women sharing a quick laugh as her ticket was finalized. "Here you go, all taken care of. Any reason you're going out there? Work related, I'm assuming?"

"No, not this time. I'm...meeting up with a friend. And I'm reeeeally hoping that everything works out for the best."

"Well, I hope that you enjoy your trip. Have fun!"

"Thank you", AJ said to the lady behind the counter. Before she left, however, she grabbed a pen from her pocket and asked for a piece of paper. Signing her name onto it, she slid her signature to the woman behind the counter. "Give that to your daughter. I'm sure she'll be thrilled", she added with a smile as she walked off toward her gate, the teller thanking her profusely for the autograph.

After bobbing and weaving her way through the massive crowd of people, she eventually found her way to her gate and waited. She had about an hour to kill before she could board, so she pulled out a book from her bag and began to read. Twenty minutes went by, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that a man had sat down next to her, himself carrying a rather large bag that rivaled her own. _'Must be a business man or something',_ she mused to herself as she flipped another page.

"Heavy bag ya got there for such a tiny little girl like yourself", the man observed as he looked down at it. "You a one woman traveling circus or something?"

She laughed at the question; she might as well be. "Uh huh! Face paint, red nose, big shoes, I got everything I need in there", she said with a smile before she returned to her book.

"Laurinaitis give you those shoes then? It wouldn't surprise me. That douche has a million of them."

Her head snapped up and her mood perked up as well at the sound of the voice. Turning to face the man, her eyes lit up like they only did when he was around. "Punk!"

"No, it's King Kong Bundy."

She smiled widely at that comment, one he had said to her before, and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I thought you were already in Chicago", she whispered to him as she held his head against hers.

"I stuck around after Raw and traveled to San Diego with the crew, they told me to take a few days off", he said, grinning to himself as his head was still pressed up against her brown mane. "Ready for this?", he asked her as the overhead speaker announced that the flight to Chicago was ready to board.

She removed her hands from around his neck and beamed at him, her pearly whites flashing as she stood up and grabbed her bags. "I've been ready."

He grinned down at her and shook his head as he extended his arm to her, which she happily grabbed. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that was going to ruin this day for her.

This was going to be the best day of her life.

* * *

**And that's that! Thank you all to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and followed this, you don't know how much I appreciate it all. Hope everyone liked the little KKB reference I threw in there at the end as well, I thought it was nice. Next chapter should be up sometime over the weekend, and it's just them in the land of Chicago! See ya then!**


	8. crazy chicks, gotta love 'em

**Hey everybody! I'm so sorry about the delay in updating. My internet has been coming and going over the last week, and I got it back just in time to finish this latest chapter. Hope everyone enjoys and again, sorry for the delay!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"The stars are really pretty tonight, aren't they?"

Her words snapped him out of his momentary trance, his eyes wandering down to the tiny brunette who was currently fidgeting against him as they sat in the empty bleachers of Wrigley Field. The Cubs game had ended an hour ago, with the home team pulling out a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros in extra innings. Being the huge fan that he was, he knew some of the people who maintained the stadium on a daily basis and they let him stay behind after home games in exchange for a few pictures and autographs. It was a fair trade off, especially at a time like this, when he had company. More often than not, he'd bring Colt, or another friend of his, but never a female, unless it was one of his sisters. So yeah, having all of Wrigley Field to himself was a nice little perk of being the favorite son of Chicago.

"Eh, they're alright. Not as nice as this though", he said, motioning to the empty seats surrounding them. "I'll take this over some cliche looking stars any night."

"You didn't need to do this", she whispered, leaning her head against his side. "Everything we've done today was enough."

"Think of it as my way of saying thank you for coming out here", he said, shrugging his shoulders as he removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. He thought back to Monday night, when he called her and asked her to come out here with him. At first, he thought he had made a horrible mistake, that he should have just left her and Daniel alone, and that his lack of judgment would come back to kick his teeth down his throat. Then he thought that hell, maybe it was a good idea afterall, maybe he'd get somewhere with this crazy chick, and he could get some of the things he wanted to say off of his chest.

"You still didn't need to get the entire stadium to ourselves", she said, turning her head to bury her face in the fabric of his jersey. "I mean, don't get me wrong, this is...unbelievable and so awesome...I just wish that there was a way that I could repay you for all of this."

He looked down at her and stifled a chuckle. "There isn't one, and if there was, there'd be no way that I'd let you try such a thing. You're pretty much out of luck", he said as he looked down at the deserted baseball diamond from his seat in center field. "Then again-"

"Luck is for losers", she finished the sentence for him, earning a smile from him as she looked up into his eyes. AJ breathed a contented sigh as she dug her head further and further into the side of his body, trying to locate the perfect resting spot for her head on his chiseled body. "This really is wonderful, though. Just you and me...", she trailed off, staring up into the dark skies above.

"Well, you, me, those stars you like so much, and the ghosts of Wrigley's past", he responded back with. "Sometimes I feel like I can still see Bartman screwing everything up for everyone down there by the left field wall. And before you ask, yes, us Cubs fans won't let it go and never will."

She laughed at the conviction in Punk's voice as he spoke about his beloved Cubs. "I wasn't gonna ask, but I'll remember that the next time we talk about baseball. Thanks for the heads up", she said, a giggle escaping her lips, still digging her head around before finally finding the perfect spot, right underneath his arm and up against his rib cage. Her eyes fluttered for a second as she lay there, feeling the slow beating of his heart and the subtle rise of his chest with every breath he took. If this was heaven, she never wanted to leave.

"Comfortable, I take it?", he asked her as he looked down at her, a simple nod being the answer he got. He grinned as he stretched his arms out and casually placed one around her shoulder, slowly rubbing circles on her bare arm with his fingers. "Good. Might as well stay like that, we're probably gonna be here a while."

"Oh? Is that so?", she asked, her eyes still wandering around the field and the skies. "You must really like it here if you want to stay."

"You could say that", he started off saying, taking a second to scratch away at his beard. "If the Cubs are home, I'm here after games. If they're on the road when I'm home, then I'm elsewhere. Either way, when I'm here, in Chicago...I'm here to clear my head of everything."

"Well...I'm flattered and honored that you brought me here with you...I feel like I'm sitting on sacred ground right now", she said, closing her eyes and nestling her head back into his body. "Where else do you go? To clear your head, I mean."

A small grin played at his lips as he took a second to look up at the stars she was admiring. "You manage to stick around, maybe you'll find out."

AJ didn't respond; she found her eyes were becoming fixated on one certain star, further away from the rest of them that dotted the blackish-blue skies. They widened when she realized what it was. _"Guess I should make a wish"_, she whispered quietly to herself. Watching it soar through the skies, she thought of something good to wish for, before settling on what she really wanted more than anything right now. _"I wish that this would never end"_, she whispered again, turning her eyes from the stars to Punk's face. She smiled as she found him looking at the stars as well.

"What was that about something never ending?", he asked, and her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. **Crap**, she thought as she saw him look down at her. He wasn't supposed to hear that. Thinking on the fly, she shook her head and muttered a quick 'nothing' under her breath. "Don't say that it's nothing, what did you really say?", he again asked.

"You'd make fun of me for it", she said in a hushed tone, facing away from him and looking down at the deserted field. "And you don't wanna hear it. It's stupid. Don't worry about it", she said, trying to change the subject.

"I'll make fun of you if you puss out and don't tell me what you said, so you might as well just get it out there, or I'm not gonna stop", he said, grinning as he did so, continuing to rub circles around her arm. "Believe me, I could go all night."

She sighed deeply. No point in keeping her feelings bottled up anymore. "I said that I wished that this would never end. There, I said it. Happy?"

Punk's eyes arched upward at her revelation. He was a bit surprised by the honesty of the answer, he hadn't expected that from her, she seemed like one to beat around the bush and only let a little bit slip about what was on her mind. "I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here and assume that your little statement there has something to do with what you've been wanting to tell me for the longest time. Right or wrong?"

"Right", she murmured with a nod of her head. "And believe me, I've wanted to tell you so, so bad...but either the timing was wrong or, well, you know...stuff happened."

"My neck and back thank you, by the way", he said with the slightest hint of a chuckle, rubbing his neck as he remembered being pushed through a table by her. "_Still_ don't understand why you pulled that stunt but it's in the past, I'm over it. Continue."

She slowly wrung her hands together, unsure of how to start or what to start with. She looked up at him briefly, and he had a look on his face that almost said 'I'm waiting', and that only made her nerves go further south. "Do you...do you remember when I got called up to the main roster last year? It was one of my first SmackDown shows and you were there working the show..."

"And you went bananas at the sight of me, so you ran up and practically begged me for a picture."

Her head snapped up from it's position against his body, eyes a bit incredulous as she tried to shake off the shock from his sentence. "You remember that?"

"I came across the picture the other night when I was looking through my phone...hard to forget the time when a rookie Diva practically jumps your bones in the middle of catering for a simple photo."

She blushed, looking down at her fingers which she now found herself playing with. "You were...you still are, an inspiration to someone like me...I geeked when I saw you, I couldn't help myself. And you were so nice about it, I couldn't believe it. I heard stories about how much of a jerk you could be, but...I don't know, it was just overwhelming and so awesome when I met you that first time."

Punk didn't say anything to her, so she took that as a sign to go on with what she was saying. "I don't know if you've spoken to John lately, but when I found out that I was working with you, I went crazy. Here I am, a small time Diva coming off a brutal break-up and all that, haven't done anything really memorable except my schtick with Daniel, getting thrust into a program with the **WWE Champion.** My mind was blown, and all I could do was pester him with questions about you."

"Yeah, he told me. I thought it was kinda funny...you're not the first person to ask what it's like to work with me, nor will you be the last. But I can see why you'd get all crazy over it. I'm kind of a big deal", he said, smirking as she playfully slapped his arm. "What does that have to do with...this though?", he then asked, pointing between the two of them, her sighing once more.

"I know this will sound weird, and it might freak you out a bit, but it's the truth...the few times that our paths crossed before we started working together this summer, those few times we talked about the latest in comics and music and video games, all of that...I don't know, I sort of felt a connection...none of the girls are really into the stuff I'm into, and when I dated Daniel, he wouldn't really bother with it too. But when we talked, even if it was months between those talks...I felt like you got me, you know? I've had a crush on you since before I got called up to the main roster...and being able to work with you and be around you so much...well, it kinda got amplified...and the whole break up with Daniel...it just..."

Punk held a finger up to her lips, quieting her. He could sense that she was starting to get worked up and upset, and he didn't want to see her in that state, not right now, not when everything was going swell at the moment. He saw her take a deep breath and bite her lip to stop the word vomit, and he had to admit (though only to himself), she looked...cute, doing that. He then sighed himsef. This is what this girl had done to him over the course of the last two, three months. She had him saying that things were _cute_. She had him saying that _she_ was _cute_.

"I've been crushing on you for a long time, Punk. A very long time. And even when I was with Daniel, when he'd be at his worst...I'd always find myself thinking about what it'd be like to be with you. And I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for all the crap I put you though, jerking you around like that all the time...I wanted to tell you all of this so badly...but I could never get the courage to do so. I was so confident so many times that I'd spill the beans, but it'd never happen...I was always afraid..."

"Afraid of what?"

She looked down at her hands, at the metal bleacher she was sitting on, then back to the star dotted skies. This was hard for her to admit to him; she was essentially letting every wall of hers down and showing him the real her. But that's what scared her the most. What if he wasn't interested in her like that? _What if, what if, what if..._

"I mean, come on...you're CM Punk. WWE Champion. **Best In The World**. What would you possibly ever want to do with a girl like me? I was a nobody who only stuck around because I started dating Daniel...I couldn't even win NXT...and I only caught on because Daniel dumped me...I'm broken, damaged goods...I'm still not in the best place mentally and emotionally...I shoved you through a table, for God's sake! I was just always afraid that you'd set me to the side and want nothing to do with me, that this huge school-girl crush of mine would amount to nothing."

Punk sat there, his arm removed from around her body, letting her words settle within his mind for a few moments. Running a hand through his hair and then through his beard, everything slowly processing itself. How did he respond to all of that? He couldn't think of a feasible way to do so. She had been making a habit of leaving him stunned and confused, and this was no different than before.

"AJ, I don't...I mean...do you really think I'm like that?", he asked incredulously.

She slowly nodded her head, brunette curls covering her face, almost ashamed at what she just admitted. "I've heard the stories...", she murmured quietly as she turned away from him, she couldn't bear to look at him at this moment. But she felt his hand on her bare shoulder, sending a shiver down her spine as he gently turned her around to face him. His hand then made it's way to her chin, lifting her head up so that she could face him, but she still wouldn't look at him. Brushing away her hair, he spoke to her softly, trying to coax her out of her shell. "AJ, look at me."

She shook her head, and he couldn't help but grin when she did that. "AJ, seriously, just look at me for two seconds. I'm not gonna bite your face off or anything. Two seconds is all I ask of you."

Slowly but surely, her eyes made their way up and met with his. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm not like that at all, AJ. The stories you've heard, they're false. But I'll admit, the shit I had to put up with you over these few months was enough to drive me up the wall on a near daily basis, and I came close on more than a few occasions to ripping you a new one. But I couldn't, and I didn't know why until it hit me when I made the flight from Comic Con in San Diego to New Jersey. I was starting to develop some feelings for you...and then after Money In The Bank when I let you just walk away, it went from developing feelings to falling through the skies. So Monday, after I called you, I sat down and thought about it long and hard. And after everything that's happened today...well..."

"Well what?", she asked eagerly.

"I would like to take you out...Monday after Raw 1000. And then we'll see how things go from there. How does that sound?"

Instead of getting a verbal response of any kind, he felt her tiny body jump into his, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as tightly as she could. All he could do was laugh a little bit, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she spoke, her voice muffled. "I'd love to go out after the show. Thank you for not giving up on me."

He nodded his response, gingerly wrapping his own arms around her petite frame as he looked up at the stars she was marvelling at earlier. A singlular thought then crossed his mind, getting him to smile as he whispered it to himself.

_"Gotta love crazy chicks."_

* * *

**Well that's it for this chapter! It wasn't as long as others, I didn't feel the need to draw it out more than it already had been. Anyways, next up; the heel turn (even though he still gets the biggest pops of the night at house shows) and their first date! Ahh, can't wait to write it all out. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	9. heel turns and first dates

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've been busy with a whole lot of things other than work, haven't had much time to sit down and bang out this chapter as I'd have liked or usually have, but here it is! The heel turn and their first date! I had a blast writing this chapter, and I thank you all for being patient with me. Hope you all like this chapter! Here it is!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"So what do you think? Are you open to it?"

He stared at the man in front of him with great amusement, his eyes then wandering back down to the two pieces of paper in front of him, both of which had lists on them. He had been combing them over for the past half hour or so, he didn't really know how long it was, time had seemingly escaped him. He smirked as his eyes fell back on the guy.

"Are you open to the idea of me shoving these lists up your ass?"

The man merely rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, while Punk smirked, arms folded across his chest as the man tried to regain his composure, which he was losing with every second that passed. "Listen, this is what we came up with, what do you want to do?"

"I think I'm gonna stop wasting my time here and go talk to Vince."

The man threw the two sheets of paper up into the air, his arms raised in disgust as he stormed off, making no bones about his displeasure WWE Champion through various colorful words, stomping his feet as he walked in the opposite direction of the Chicago native. He didn't care though; he saw this as a mere formality, a bump in the road. He was gonna talk to Vince, see what the real deal was, then head out there later tonight for Raw 1000, do his thing, and then take some crazy chick who kept dancing around in his mind out for dinner after the show.

"Skipping", he murmured quietly to himself as he approached his boss' door. "She doesn't dance, she skips."

Stopping just outside, he knocked three times before hearing a gruff sounding _'Come in!'_ being shouted in the direction of the door. Pushing past it, he saw the chairman of the board's back facing him, probably on a call or whatever. Punk had had his grievances with Vince in the past, and he was sure to have more down the road, but he had to give the old bastard credit where credit was due; the man didn't stop working for anything. He was the very definition of the word workaholic.

"Who are you and what do you want, this call is important", Vince said, back still turned as Punk sat down in the chair opposite him and propped his feet up on the desk in front of him. He grinned, deciding he was gonna have a little fun with this.

"Hi, I'm Linda's attorney, she's filing for divorce."

The chair swung around faster than the speed of light, and the look of exasperation and bewilderment on Vince's face turned to mild disgust as Punk howled with laughter. "You shoulda seen your face there for a second, Vince. That just made my whole day, thanks for that boss man", he said as he calmed himself down and ran his tongue over his lip ring.

"For a grown man whose also my champion, you sure do like pulling those little juvenile pranks, don't you Phil?", Vince said through slightly gritted teeth, whispering into his phone that he'd call back, that he had to deal with his champion for a moment. "What do you want?"

"Aw c'mon Vinny Mac, lighten up. Just busting your balls a little bit, trying to loosen your tie up there, looks like it's choking you half to death", he said with a sly smile on his lips as he put his feet down and leaned forward. "But since you asked so nicely, I'm here because one of your so called 'writers' pulled me aside and showed me these two lists with names on them. One was a list of guys I can feud with as a face. The other was a list of guys I can feud with as a heel. You want me to turn heel?", he asked, his hands folded together and propping his chin up as he looked at the Chairman of the board, searching for an answer.

"Well surely you've heard that I'm looking to shake things up like I did last year", he said, a bit of a reminiscent look on his face. "Surely you remember that."

"I ever thank you for letting me rip you and everyone else to shreds the way I did?", he quipped back.

"Anyways", Vince said, a mild sneer on his face as he continued talking. "I thought that with shaking everything up again and having a major story come out of tonight, I'd have you beat up Dwayne at the end of your title defense and turn heel. It'll be perfect. The spotlight will be on you and the title, and you'll be given carte blanche to do and say whatever you want again. Besides, we both know you work better when the fans want to rip your face off."

Sitting back in his chair, Punk ran a hand through his hair as he thought about what was just said to him. Sure, Vince was right, he was at his best when the fans were booing the living crap out of him every night, and he had some of the best moments of his career when he was on the dark side of the fence, but he had been getting cheered even before last summer. He could remember hearing cheers here and there when he was still heading up the New Nexus (oh how he didn't like thinking about those days). His initial run when he broke onto the main roster notwithstanding, this was the most sustainable face run of his entire career...and to just turn heel so suddenly didn't make much sense to him at all.

"While that fact may be true, and believe me, I'm a villain to the end regardless of what I do, I just...I don't know, I guess I just don't see the sense in doing something so...sudden? Yeah, sudden is the word I'm looking for here. Maybe it's me, maybe AJ's rubbed off on me and I'm going crazy, but why mess with a good thing right now?"

Vince went to speak to him but he held a hand up to silence his boss. "No, let me continue here, Vinny Mac. When Randall took a 60 day vacation, who did you call upon to help pull the sled over on SmackDown? That's right, me. Not John Boy, me. Me and D-Bry and AJ, we carried SmackDown for you, no disrespect to Sheamo, but that's fact and I dare you to find anyone who'll dispute that. We carried both shows for you, Vince, and our feud was one of the better one's this company's seen in a while. And you just wanna pull the plug on everything with the snap of a finger? Tell me Vince, how is that good for business?"

Punk looked to his boss and he looked like he had sucked on a hundred or so lemons, that's how big a scowl he had on his face. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, the Chairman of the board leaned back in his plush chair, fingers interlocked with each other as he thought of what to say to his volatile WWE Champion. He began twidling his thumbs, words escaping him at the moment, while Punk sat there, feet propped back up on the desk. "I'm waiting, Vince."

"I sometimes wonder why I ever thought bringing you up to the main roster six years ago was a good idea", he muttered under his breath so that Punk couldn't hear. Finally, he sighed as he leaned forward. "Why so hesitant? Three years ago you jumped at the chance to be the heel again and have everyone hate your guts. I don't get it. I thought that this would be something you'd want more than anything."

"Again, normally, you'd be right, and I'd be all over this. But there's also something else to consider with this. I've been the WWE Champion for a solid 8 months at this point. I haven't looked back since Survivor Series. I have consistently had the best matches with everyone you've put in front of me. I'm beginning to reach the point, I think, where the fans are simply going to cheer me regardless of what side of the fence I'm on because they respect me too much for what I've done. And what have I done, Vince? I've given this", he said, putting the WWE Title down on the desk, "the respect and legitimacy it deserves. This title matters more than it has in the last few years, because it's not being thrown around like a hot potato every few weeks. And again, I dare you to find anyone with the balls to dispute my claims."

Vince rolled his eyes and snorted. "You love making everything so damn difficult whenever we talk, don't you Phil?"

"I don't see the point in turning me heel. Just saying."

"Just...just do it or I'll fine you, because I can't take the title off of you, not yet. Now leave or I'll fine and then suspend you."

Shaking his head in disappointment and grabbing the title off of the desk, rolling his eyes and cursing his boss out under his breath, he left and exited the office, walking down the hall as he muttered to himself, earning him odd looks from stage hands as he entered his dressing room and saw AJ in the process of fixing up her hair for her wedding-that-she-no-longer-was-seriously-going-through-with. All she was wearing was a simple white bath robe to go along with plain black Converse. It was enough to make him take pause and glance at her up and down. She looked nice. _Real nice._ His tongue was being bitten down on so that he wouldn't utter the words aloud, but he thought them regardless. She must not have heard him enter because she was busy humming something to herself, taking the brush through her long brunette locks. He couldn't help the grin that was spreading across his lips as he placed his title down on a nearby chair, placing his hands on his hips as he watched her.

"Having fun there, huh?"

His voice startled her, causing her to whip around to face him, the brush she had been using hitting the floor. She caught her breath and held a hand to her chest to calm and compose herself. She picked up a towel and playfully threw it at him. "You jerk, you nearly scared me half to death! Had me thinking you were someone else!"

He grinned as he picked up the towel and tossed it back at her. "Who'd you think I was, D-Bry?"

She cringed and groaned at the mention of his name. "I feel bad...I was supposed to meet up with him for lunch on Friday and I totally ditched him...I've barely spoken to him at all since Wednesday. Do you think I should talk to him and tell him that it's just not gonna work out between us again?"

Punk shrugged as he sat down, setting the WWE Title at his feet while he rolled his neck, hearing a distinctive crack before clasping his hands together and rolling his wrists as he began to speak to her. "That's up to you. But don't you think you're lacking a bit of foresight here? I mean...our little get together after the show might not work out...he'd be a nice fall back option, don't you think?"

AJ gave him a knowing look, grinning as she walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Don't be talking that crazy talk...that's my job. I have a feeling that later tonight is going to be just fine. Now I gotta go", she said as she skipped over to the door. "Gotta meet up with some of the writers...I can't wait for you to see what happens tonight, you're gonna love it! See ya later!", she said as she began to step out the door.

"Wait, AJ wait!", he called out, realizing he had forgotten to tell him his plans. But before he could get another word out, she was gone, probably skipping and smiling down the hall. He let out a deep sigh as he lowered his hand back down to his side. "Oh yeah, forgot to tell you that they're turning me heel. No biggie. Only the first time I've ever been reluctant about being the villain again. I'll survive", he muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, contemplating how he was going to pull this whole act off tonight.

**xXx**

"This is it. Just go out there and do what you do best."

He repeated that sentence to himself over and over in his head as he amped himself up behind the curtain, waiting in the Gorilla. Over the course of the last few hours, he had talked himself in and out of going through with the plan, before eventually settling on doing it. He'd have to just make the best of it, but he knew the fans - **his** fans - would still cheer him regardless of the situation. So when the broadcast static rang through the air followed by the riffs of 'Cult Of Personality', he knew what he had to do.

As his match with John wore on, the reservations about what he was going to do began to creep back into his head, but he pushed them to the back of his mind as best he could. His mind then wandered to what AJ would think of the entire thing. He hadn't seen her since before the show, when she skipped out of his dressing room. He was watching when she was announced as the permanent GM of Raw, and it surprised him that she was given the reigns, so to speak, but he knew that if any girl (or any man, for that matter) could handle it, it'd be her. He was happy for her. But what would she think of this entire situation? She was now his 'boss'. Then he snorted as he kicked John in the ribs; here he was, actually caring about what someone else thought of him. He shook his head as he laid into John with a stiff kick right inbetween his shoulder blades.

Why should he suddenly care what others thought? He never had and he wasn't gonna start now, even if he kinda-sorta liked AJ. She'd just have to take it or leave it. He was who he was, and that's all there was to it. He was CM Punk, villain extraordinaire, WWE Champion, and the best wrestler in the world.

"Time to go home, John Boy", he whispered in John's ear as he picked him up off the mat and lifted him onto his shoulders, preparing himself to give him the GTS, only to have it reversed mid-move into the STF - which he had jokingly pleaded with him before to apply the move right for once - and the crowd began to rise to their feet. After a minute of two of being locked in the hold, Show came out and caused the disqualification. "This is it", he whispered to himself as he rolled out of the ring, confliction written across his face as he let Dwayne run past him, playing the part of savior. A few minutes, an extra stiff clothesline and a GTS later, and there he was, standing over the corpses of Show, John and Dwayne...and yet he still heard cheers. Not a whole lot, but some. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself on the inside as he took his title and walked back up the ramp. He was right, yet again. But just because he was right didn't mean he didn't still feel a little twisted up about what he had just done.

**xXx**

"Are you alright, Punk?"

Her words snapped him out of his reverie. The historic 1,000th episode had ended a little over an hour ago, and the two of them found themselves occupying a table at a near empty diner a few blocks away from the arena in downtown St. Louis. Punk had wanted to take her somewhere nicer for their first 'date', but she insisted that this was fine, much to his chagrin. He hadn't said much to her after the show was over, opting to keep silent. It was worrying her a little bit, truth be told. She had no idea he was going to be turning heel again until she saw it happen, and she could tell by the look on his face and in the way he moved that he wasn't completely sold on it. So she was going to try her best to cheer him up.

"If it's any consolation, I thought that everything came across really well. You played your part to perfection."

All her words earned her was a slight nod and a weak smile as he poked at his food with his fork. She sighed before taking a bite of her cheeseburger (oh how she _loved_ a good cheeseburger), her eyes never once leaving Punk's face. "I'm gonna have to get used to this, aren't I?", she asked him, half seriously, half jokingly, hoping for some kind of reaction out of him.

He didn't say anything, however. He just made brief eye contact with her before going back to moving his food around slowly on his plate. AJ shook her head, hair falling over her eyes, racking her brain with words to say that could possibly get through to him; she had nothing. This was frustrating for her.

She watched him intently, trying to decipher just why he was behaving in this manner. Was he really that torn about turning heel again? She hadn't seen him since she skipped out of his locker room earlier in the night, before the show started. He hadn't gotten the chance to tell her how his meeting with Vince went, but anyone with half a brain could tell, judging by his exasperated and beaten down demeanor was at the moment, that it must not have gone over that well. He continued to barely make eye contact with her, biting down on his lip ring as he pushed a fry away with his finger. She took a deep breath and exhaled; here went nothing.

"Punk...I understand that someone like you, you don't like to open up to just anyone, or you don't like to talk about stuff that's bothering you, I've gathered that much. I don't really know why I'm saying this, seeing as this is all new to the two of us...but you can trust me. You can talk to me. And yeah, I know, something like that might not matter to you, but I just wanted you to know. You can take it for what it's worth, but I felt like you needed to hear it."

She waited with bated breath as she watched his head slowly raise, eyes following as they then locked with hers. He held her gaze for a few moments, looking deep into her eyes as his lips were sewn shut, eyebrows slightly arched. He scratched away at his beard for a second, before a small smile slowly began to creep across his lips. This, in turn, made AJ smile as they continued to stare at each other for a few more seconds, before Punk ran a hand through his hair and let a sigh escape.

"You're a real card, kid", he said with a slight chuckle as he picked up his cheeseburger and took a bite. "A real card."

"Well...", she said, grinning all giddily, drawing out the last letter of the word. "I try. I mean, I _am_ the new General Manager of Monday Night Raw...I'm the resident crazy chick of the WWE...and now here I am, having a cheeseburger with the WWE Champion. I'd say I'm the coolest card in the entire deck", she added with a laugh. But her laughter soon ceased when she saw the knowing look in Punk's eyes.

"Thanks", he said quietly. "All this", he said, motioning with his head at their surroundings and pointing between the two of them, "is going to take some time getting used to. You'll have to forgive me, I'm an old man who gets hit in the head for a living, it's gonna be a little hard for me to keep up with someone like you."

She blushed at his words, they sounded so truthful and raw and real. She pinched herself on her arm to see if all of this was real; it was. "Don't worry", she started off with, "I'll make sure to slow down for you when you're slacking behind."

Punk smiled, looking down at his plate, chuckling to himself. They soon finished their burgers, paid and were off back to the hotel they were both staying at. As the two of them walked in, laughing at the jokes they were telling, an idea ran through Punk's head. He leaned over and whispered it into her ear, and she turned her head to the side, giving him an odd look, like his request was way out there, even for someone like her. He nudged her and told her it'd be funny, and after a bit more prodding, she relented and skipped up to her room, taking a few minutes to get everything ready. Eventually, she stepped out of her room and into the hall, where he was waiting and to say that Punk was speechless was an understatement.

"How do I look?", she asked him as she slowly twirled herself around, barely able to hide her smile. He hadn't had the chance to see her in her wedding dress in person earlier, and now that he was seeing it up close and personal, words were very hard to come by. _Very, very hard._

"You uh...you look...you look nice", he stammered out, stopping himself short of saying anything else that would make him look stupid. She giggled as she sat down next to all of her things, all of them strewn about a little haphazardly outside in the hall. She grabbed her bag of chips and Diet Coke and put on her best lost look on her face. Punk couldn't help the smile on his face as he whipped out his iPhone and snapped the picture. She just looked so damn...cute. And for the first time, he didn't want to kick himself in the teeth for saying something like that.

"Hmm", he mused silently to himself as AJ stood up and put her things back into her room, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek as she bid him adieu for the night, promising to see him tomorrow for their flight. "I guess I could get used to this."

* * *

**And that's that. Again, thank you all for being so patient with me, I promise that I'll get back to uploading on a semi-regular basis instead of once every week and a half. Hope you all enjoyed, and can't wait for Raw this week! It's gonna be great, I hope. See you all soon! **


	10. stay the night

**Chapter ten! Thank you all for the reviews and follows, I greatly appreciate the love you all have shown me. So here it is! Plus, what were your thoughts on SummerSlam and Raw tonight? They seriously just need to put AJ & Punk together as a power couple or something of the sort, it's so obvious they dig each other still!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

The sun peeked through the curtains of the room, it's rays shining down on her face as she slept. Feeling the sudden warmth, she wrinkled her nose and then flipped over onto her side to try and escape the heat. All she wanted to do was continue sleeping away the day, dreaming of herself and Punk becoming serious somewhere down the road, and maybe even beyond that...

She heard a knock on the door and she groaned loudly, taking the pillow to the side of her and placing it over her head, trying to drown out the noise. She looked through squinted eyes at the clock on the table next to the bed; it read 8:45. Who in the world would be bothering her this early in the morning?

"AJ? You in there? Wake up, it's me Kaitlyn!"

"Why do you hate sleep?", AJ called out from her position on the bed, face down in a pillow. That it was her best friend who she had recently reconnected with that was attempting to wake her up was no surprise; Kaitlyn was always a freak of nature who was up at ungodly hours in the morning, even after falling asleep most nights at three or four in the morning. But she didn't care for it, not today. Today was an off day and she was going to enjoy it as much as she could before flying off to the next town for the next string of house shows. Being woken up this early wasn't how she planned on her day beginning.

"You better wake up! I'll find a way in there, you know this!"

Shaking her head in the pillow, AJ turned over and flipped her legs over the side of the bed, slowly making her way to the door, opening it to find an overly eager looking Kaitlyn standing before her, wringing her hands together, kind of like she was waiting in line outside of a store on Black Friday. She also seemingly didn't care that AJ looked like the hottest mess ever, barging in and sitting down on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to say something, anything about what happened a week ago. Sensing that was what her two toned best friend was here for, AJ ran a hand through her long brown locks and sighed.

"I already told you how it went, Kaitie."

"Nooo, you told me that it was 'nice' and 'alright'. That's as big a copout that I've ever heard, so c'mon girl, sit down and spill it. Gimme all the deets about how the Dark Knight of Chicago swept you off your feet", she said with a playful grin. AJ's eyebrow shot up, a slightly amused look on her face as she took her place next to her best friend.

"Is that what everyone calls him? The Dark Knight of Chicago? Really?", she asked somewhat incredulously. "I mean, it fits him, but seriously...?"

"Nevermind the nickname, AJ, tell me how it all went! What'd he do, where'd he take you, all of it!"

AJ sighed inwardly; it was too early for this, way too early. She had been up all night with Punk, sitting in his tour bus going through all of his old comics and playing Call Of Duty till the wee hours of the morning. They laughed, she marveled at his comic book collection, he couldn't believe someone like her was so adept at shooting zombie's heads off...it was just a real nice time. They had been hanging out every night since their first 'date' a week ago, mostly in the confines of Punk's tour bus, as Kofi was gracious enough to room and travel with Truth so that the two of them could have their privacy. Slowly but surely enough, she was finding herself enjoying Punk's company more and more, learning bits and pieces about him and what made him click with each day that passed. And to his everlasting credit, he toned down his asshole-ish tendencies when she was around, and though she didn't say it out loud (at least not yet), she appreciated it.

"Are you absolutely positive you couldn't have waited until later in the day, you know, when normal people are awake? I got back real late from-"

"From hanging out with Punk, huh? I knew that's what you were doing! What'd you guys do?", she asked excitedly, her voice raising an octave at the end of the sentence. AJ closed her eyes and sighed yet again; there was no stopping her best friend, it seemed.

"We read comics, played video games and talked a lot. Real riveting stuff, Kaitie. Can I go back to sleep now?", she half asked, half pleaded with the Texas born Diva, but she shook her head and, very much to her chagrin, as this opened another round of rapid fire questioning from her best friend, each one driving her more insane than the last one. Eventually it became too much for AJ to bear, so she held her hands up to shush the two toned Diva in front of her, if only for a few seconds so she could say her peace.

"Kait, listen, I know you're happy for me, and I know you mean well and you wanna have some girl talk because we haven't been on the best of terms till now, but I really just want to try and sleep a little bit more. Are you doing anything later?"

"Derrick's taking me out to lunch and then we've gotta fly out tonight for the house shows...you gonna be there?"

"Yup, flying out first thing tomorrow morning. I promise that I'll tell you everything about it tomorrow when I see you. That cool?"

"It's cool, girl", Kaitlyn said with a smile, holding her fist out so they could do their old Chickbusters fist bump routine. "I'll see ya tomorrow when you get to the arena. You better tell me everything!", she exclaimed as she stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. After watching her leave, AJ flopped backwards onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, before crawling back under the covers in an attempt to go back to sleep. Taking a few moments to get herself comfortable again, she smiled, content with her position in the bed. But just as her eyes began to flutter shut, her phone went off and she cursed under her breath. Reaching over to grab it, she went from heavy irritation to slight dread when she read the text.

_AJ, have you been avoiding me? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Can we talk please? It's important - Daniel_

Slamming her head back onto her pillow, she wanted to crawl into a hole and just stay there. This definitely wasn't how she wanted to spend her day off...

**xXx**

She looked around the cafe for any sight of him, and when she didn't see him, AJ shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat. She had been sitting here for a good fifteen minutes now, waiting for Daniel to arrive, but so far he was a no show. She had a feeling that she knew what he wanted to talk to her about, and for as much as she wanted to put it to the side and try to avoid it, she knew that that was the wrong thing to do, to avoid him like she was doing. But what could she possibly say to the man without him snapping and wanting to go on the war path? The last time she saw him, he started yelling about how he was trying hard to be more understanding and whatnot. He couldn't grasp the fact that she had changed a lot in the months following their break up. So when she got the text from him to meet up, she could only imagine what he was going to say to her. She hoped, for both their sakes, that he had his temper in check. She was in no way shape or form in the mood for anything of that sort today.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, getting here was a pain. traffic was everywhere."

Turning around, she saw Daniel sit down across from her, smiling at her as he got comfortable. She tilted her head forward and offered up a slight wave as her return greeting, sipping on her Pepsi (Punk was slowly starting to convert her from Coke) while he asked the waiter for a water and she asked for a coffee. He glanced over at AJ, who was sitting there quietly, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, looking like she was lost in thought. "So, how've you been?", he asked her, breaking her out of whatever daydream she was in.

"Working on trying to find a power suit in child's medium", she said with a slight grin. "You?"

"I'm getting **'YES!'** screamed at me everywhere I go, it's kind of overwhelming. Hilarious, but overwhelming", he stated, scratching his beard. "Listen, AJ...", he then started off, deciding against slowly easing his way into this conversation.

"I'm sorry if it seems like I've been avoiding you, Daniel", she said, cutting him off. "But the truth of the matter is, I've been thinking and..."

"And what, AJ?", he asked, his voice suddenly raising ever so slightly, her eyes shooting up quickly to look at him, bracing herself for the outburst that was almost sure to come. "Thinking about what? Because I've been doing some thinking too, and I don't think you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking", he said curtly. "So what're you thinking about, AJ?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, ruffling her hair so that it fell to her side. Of course it became hostile already. "I'll be honest with you right now, I've been thinking about how much I didn't miss getting yelled at and constantly treated like crap, that's what. It's amazing how quickly you just went from all 'Hi, how are you?', to wanting to rip the hair off of your beard because I was trying to apologize."

Daniel caught onto her words, and his facial features softened, if only a little bit. "Listen, AJ, I'm sorry", he said while trying to rectify the situation. "It's just, I've been-"

"No, Daniel, please. Just stop. I've _seen_ this from you before, and I'd like you to spare me here", she said, turning the hostile tables on him. "I understand that you're trying to be less of a mean spirited jerk nowadays, but that doesn't change the fact that you broke my heart and humiliated me. I loved you, Daniel, and I cared about you more than any other guy I dated. And for a while, I did my best to ignore how you behaved, because when you love someone, that's what you do; _you ignore the negatives and focus on the positives_. And I tried, Daniel, I really did..."

He went to speak but as soon as he did, the waiter came by and delivered AJ's coffee for her. He tried talking again but AJ cut him off once more; she had been waiting months for this chance, to speak her mind to him and let it rip, and she wasn't gonna let him get an word in edge wise till she was done. "You didn't care though, Daniel. You looked at me like I was some trinket, a warm body to come back to when things didn't go your way. I'm not that fragile, frail little girl who is looking to please someone at any cost anymore. I've changed, Daniel, and for the better. And I'm really, truly sorry if you can't come to grips with that fact."

To say that Daniel Bryan was shocked that those words came from the mouth and lips of AJ Lee, his ex-girlfriend, the girl he once held an insane amount of power and pull over, was like saying that the New York Yankees only won a few championships here and there. He sat, rooted to his position, jaw agape and eyes wide with amazement. All the while, she sipped quietly on her coffee, taking deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself down. She was literally shaking with a sense of release, like the monkey on her back had finally found someone else to go annoy. A renewed feeling of confidence coursed through her veins as she placed her cup down and exhaled; she had finally stood up to Daniel, and it felt great. _'Punk would be proud, or something like it'_, she thought to herself, a grin spreading across her lips.

Daniel shook his head, trying to see if that exchange had really just happened. It did. He just couldn't bring himself to believe it. With her true feelings now out in the open, he couldn't think of what to say to her. What was there to say? He had initiated this, instigated her and now her vitriol was out there for all to see. He was a mix of emotions; amazed, disheartened, vengeful, pissed off. Those emotions rang true in his next spoken words.

"You're crazy."

He instantly brought his hand up full force and smacked himself in the forehead. Another instance of speaking before he thought, something that had been plaguing the crap out of him these past few months. His hand slid down his face, and as it did, he made eye contact with AJ, who had her head tilted to the side, a look on her face that could only be described as, well...crazy. Her head became upright, dark brown tresses falling over her shoulder. Her breathing had become somewhat heavy, and the wild look in her eyes did nothing to put him at ease. But just as quickly as she had looked deranged and insane, she snapped her head to her left, a big smile on her lips as she looked her ex-boyfriend up and down, carefully speaking her next words to him, as they would be the last she'd have to say to him outside of the ring for a while.

"I know why you asked me here today, Daniel. I know why you've been acting a lot nicer than you used to when we dated. I also probably know what you wanted to say to me, besides calling me crazy...and you know what, maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. You'll never know. What you should know, is that whatever you thought you could try and recapture between us doesn't exist anymore. That ship set sail when you tore my heart apart. So please, I suggest you find something else to bide your time with, because I'm done. But going back to what you said I was...well, you know what they say about being crazy, Daniel."

"What?", he asked, almost gulping as he watched her stand up, fearing she might try to claw his eyes out.

"Crazy is the new sane."

**xXx**

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to say one nice thing about John Laurinaitis."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot myself then."

AJ laughed as she sat cross legged on the couch on Punk's tour bus, the man himself sitting in the same manner across from her, in Kofi's seat. They had been at this, playing truth or dare, for the last hour, sharing a few laughs and finding out new things about each other along the way. Her latest dare to him was a doozy, as he couldn't think of one redeeming quality, no matter how small or big, about the ex-GM of both Raw and SmackDown.

"You picked dare, Punk, so go on, think of something."

"Well, whenever I'm sick and feel like vomiting, I picture him smiling and then I feel better. That any good?"

"As good as it's going to get for you", she said, stifling a giggle. "Your turn."

"Alrighty...truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Who's the better kisser, me, D-Bry or Kane."

She hung her head low, her wavy brown tresses covering her face as a small grin appeared. "I'm never gonna escape that question, am I?", she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I feel like I get asked that all the time now!"

"And you just got asked it again, so answer", he responded with. "PS, the answer to the question is the name of the guy sitting directly in front of you", he then added, putting his hand up to the side of his mouth as he spoke in a whisper.

AJ laughed at his words, pondering her thoughts for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and let her hands fall into her lap. "Yeah, I'd have to say you're the best out of the three of you. Then Kane, surprisingly. For a big guy he's really...gentle, when it comes to women. Not something you'd expect out of a hulking monstrous freakazoid like he can be, but it was a pleasant surprise when I laid one on him."

"No love for good ole D-Bry, huh?", he asked her as he got up to grab a bottled water for himself, hearing her groan as he rummaged around in the fridge for one. "I guess not. Anything you want to share?", he asked her, sitting back down across from her, finding the irritated look on her face to be endearing and hilarious all at once.

"He texted me today and asked me to meet him at a coffee shop...let's just say it didn't go as well as he had hoped. I don't think I'll be speaking to him anytime soon", she murmured as she took a chip out of the bag in front of her and chomped down on it. Punk raised an eyebrow at her comments as he took a swig of his water. She picked up on it and did the same. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

"Care to elaborate a bit on what happened?", he asked, clearly intrigued and interested with what the petite brunette possibly had to say of her encounter with his old friend.

"He wanted to see why I had been avoiding him these past couple of weeks...I didn't tell him flat out why, but when I went to apologize about it, he got angered real quick and then it broke down into a little spat..."

"And...?"

"And when he tried to apologize, I told him to spare me that. I'm not gonna get into the specifics of what I said, but I got a lot of things off of my chest, things that I've wanted to tell him for a while now...and it felt really good. I feel a lot better about everything now that I did that."

Punk cocked his head back, grinning as he slid his tongue over his lip ring. Reaching over to AJ's head, he ruffled her hair, chuckling as he did so, before falling back into his seat. "Atta girl. I'm rubbing off on you already. Proud of you!"

AJ sucked in a deep breath and lowered her head so that he wouldn't see her blushing profusely. "Um...thanks. Thank you", she stammered out, not daring to tell him that she thought he'd say that. Looking for a diversion so that she wouldn't keep going on looking like a drooling fangirl, she reached for her phone and saw the time. Her eyes widened a bit at how late it was, but then again, the two of them had been staying up this late the past few days as it was, so it was becoming commonplace.

"Wow, look at the time. I really don't wanna leave but I gotta", she said, stifling a yawn as she stood up from the couch and stretched her limbs. "You should go to sleep too, you know. We have a super early flight tomorrow morning."

"You don't need to go all the way back up to your room, you know. You can crash here if you'd like, then grab your stuff before we go to the airport", he offered, standing up himself and doing the same. Her eyes widened at what he was suggesting; suddenly, her mind wandered south and she shook her head of the dirty thoughts. She must've looked like she was zoning out, because his hand was waving in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance. "Or you can stand there like a zombie, whatever works for you", he said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose, and I know you like your privacy...", she said, feeling another yawn come on. Boy was she getting more and more sleepy by the second.

"Nonsense, child. You can sleep in my bed, I'll crash here on the couch. No harm, no foul", he said, smiling at her, which, even in her sleepy state, caused her stomach to do flip flops. "Just let me grab you a blanket out of the closet here...", he said, not noticing that she had sat back down and put her head on the arm rest, her eyes closing. Two seconds later and she was out.

"Here you go and you're already asleep", he said, looking down at the slumbering brunette. He shook his head, a small grin playing on his lips as he bent down and scooped her small frame up bridal style into his arms, walking her into his bedroom in the back of the bus. He gently placed her down on the bed, spreading the blanket over her, before smiling down at her. "What am I gonna do with you?", he asked rhetorically. He then remembered that he had something for her, digging through his backpack before coming up with a silver, glittery skull. "Got ya something for your power suit for SummerSlam. Hope ya like it", he said, placing it down on the table next to his bed.

He looked down at her sleeping form and he couldn't help but feel a certain...warmth, wash over his body as he watched her rest comfortably. She looked like she was in heaven, pure bliss. He couldn't help but continue to smile. Something about her just made him feel...happy? He couldn't quite place a finger on it, but it didn't matter. She was a great, sweet girl and he was glad to have her company. Bending over so that he was hovering above her head, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, crazy chick", he said softly as he righted himself and turned the lights off.

AJ shifted around on the bed, a dreamy smile on her lips. "You too, Punk", she said sleepily, before she finally drifted off. "You too."


	11. passing the test

**Here's chapter eleven! Once more, big thanks to everyone who reads, reviews and follows this story. Without you all, I wouldn't be writing this. Still waiting for the creative team to realize that Punk and AJ belong together. Stop torturing us already. Give us what we want. Seriously. It'd be much appreciated by everyone.**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like the son of Wolverine with your beard like that?"

Punk glanced up from his menu for a moment and gave the bushy haired man sitting across from him a blank stare, before turning his gaze to that of AJ, who was trying her hardest to hide a grin, covering her mouth with her hand while Punk simply stared at her.

"I thought you said he wasn't gonna ask any stupid questions."

"And I thought you were going to behave yourself tonight."

"That was me behaving!"

She shot him an unimpressed look while he looked bewildered, drawing a few chuckles from the two toned haired Diva across from them, while her boyfriend looked confused at the actions happening before him.

"Come on, you know I could have said a lot worse!"

"Why don't you two just get a room already?"

Punk's eyes drifted to the man called Derrick Bateman, glaring at him, his jaw clenched shut as he contemplated ways on how he could maim the poor bastard without anyone figuring out it was him who did it. He could see AJ and Kaitlyn giggling between the two of them, and he sighed. AJ had come to him earlier in the day, before their house show, and practically begged him to come out with her, Kaitlyn and Derrick for a makeshift double date. He had been leery of Derrick though, having heard many...interesting stories about him through the people he worked with on NXT. Daniel especially, since he was his pro, had nothing but weird things to say about the dude. So he had a simple request to AJ if he was going on this; he wouldn't ask stupid questions about anything. Yeah, _that_ worked out real well.

"Derrick, come on now, leave the two of them alone. They're both here to have a good time just like we are, so hush", Kaitlyn said as she nudged him in the shoulder, shooting an apologetic look to Punk and AJ as well.

"Just saying...I can feel the sexual tension between the two of them. I'm surprised you don't feel it either, babe", he commented while he looked over his menu, not seeing the incensed, almost infuriated look on Punk's face and the massive blush creeping across AJ's cheeks. His eye twitching and hands slowly clenching into fists, he went to raise them and sock the weirdo in the face, but he felt AJ's hand on his wrist, lowering it back beneath the table, out of sight. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, and whatever she said calmed him down almost immediately. Didn't mean he still wasn't miffed at what the goof had said.

It was late Friday night, the show having ended a few hours ago. After the live events for the weekend were over, it was off to Dallas for Raw and then Los Angeles for SummerSlam week, with the event being the crown jewel of the week taking place at the Staples Center once again. Truth be told, Punk was looking forward to spending the entire week in Los Angeles, contrary to what he had said to many in the past. Sure, he wasn't the biggest fan of the 'City of Angels', but he knew that AJ was really looking forward to it, seeing as she couldn't stop gushing about it whenever she had the chance. So he was going to make sure she enjoyed the week there to the fullest. Step one was offering to fly her family out there, along with his own. Needless to say, she was taken back and more than a little surprised when he made the offer to her.

But that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. He had many more surprises and tricks up his tattooed sleeves, but he wouldn't utter a peep about them until they touched down at LAX. Sure, she had been a little suspicious of what he was planning for the entire week, and what he could be planning made her wonder how they'd fit anything in, seeing as the two of them were going to be super busy with events and parties and whatnot, but he remained tight lipped about it. No secrets were escaping him, and she'd just have to ride the wave to see what was gonna happen.

"I apologize for him, he's got no filter from his brain to his mouth", Kaitlyn mumbled under her breath as she surveyed her menu, making sure to discreetly step on Derrick's foot under the table, which earned her a glare as the pained look on his face faded. "He thinks it's perfectly acceptable to say things like this", she then added, looking at AJ to back her up.

"He's really not that bad, Punk", she said reassuringly, rubbing his arm soothingly, trying to calm him down. "We spent a lot of time together on NXT, he's really funny when you get to know him."

"I'm right here, you know", he piped in, stating the obvious, but he got roundly ignored by the three people at the table.

"You said he wasn't gonna ask stupid questions or say anything stupid in general", Punk repeated somewhat sardonically. "Telling us to get a room and saying I look like the spawn of Weapon X qualifies as stupid where I come from. And where I come from, you get the shit kicked out of you for saying less."

"Again, still right here and-hey! Not cool, bro. Not cool at all", Derrick stated as he shook his head in disbelief, disappointment written across his facial features as he tsked and went back to his menu.

"Yeah, _you must_ hang around with Ryder", Punk murmured to himself while he rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling not too hungry as he was when the four of them entered the place fifteen minutes ago. "And now I'm not hungry anymore. That's just peachy", he said, fixing his glare on AJ, who could only smile at him sheepishly before burying her head into her own menu, while he sighed. "I'm gonna go get some air, I'll be back soon", he said, patting AJ on the top of her wavy brown locks before sliding out of the booth they all occupied.

Once he was outside, he took in a deep breath and sat down on a nearby bench to gaze up at the skies. She was rubbing off on him in that regard; always wanting to go outside when there was nothing to do in the bus, lay down on the grass and look at the night skies. Next time, he thought, they should do it on top of the bus; she'd surely like that. He was so lost in looking at them, though, that he didn't realize he was heavy one person on the bench.

"Having fun all by yourself out here?"

His upward glance drifted downward to the multi-colored haired Diva sitting beside him, a warm smile on her pink lips. He shrugged his shoulders, also rolling his neck a bit before going to do his wrists. "Just getting some air and thinking about stuff. Care to go for a walk, kid?"

"Yeah sure, that'd be nice. Even I need a little time away from Derrick here and there...and I'm dating him."

He couldn't help but laugh at that comment as the two of them stood up, walking past the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. The two of them remained silent for a few moments, Punk his hands in his pockets as he kicked a few pebbles out of the way, Kaitlyn brushing her hair aside as she took her glance off of the street and onto the man walking beside her. They weren't exactly friends, per se, but the more and more she heard AJ gush about how great a guy he was, even when she was still dating Daniel, made her wonder just how great he really could be. To start, he wasn't like the other guys, as if the tattoos and piercings weren't proof enough of that fact. She had also heard all the stories about him; some of them she believed, some of them were just too outlandish to consider. She knew he was an asshole and always spoke his mind about any and everything, and that he was one hell of an enemy if you managed to get on his shit list, but she had also heard, mainly through Kofi when AJ wasn't talking her ear off about him, that he really wasn't that bad once you got to know the dude a little bit. But if AJ, her best friend, had taken such a liking to the favorite son of Chicago, then maybe she'd see what was so great about him herself.

"You know, I've heard a lot of things about you. Some good, some bad. The good mostly came from AJ's mouth, though", she started off, eyeing the WWE Champion with a hint of suspicion and curiosity.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?", he muttered to himself, his eyes on the ground as they continued their short walk to where ever.

"Your reputation precedes you", she stated simply, raising her hands almost in defense. "But I mean, if AJ has nothing but glowing things to say about you, then you can't be all that bad. You won't believe how much she talks about you when it's just the two of us around."

Punk cocked an eyebrow at her statement, a smirk on his lips as he ran his tongue across his lip ring. "Really? I find that kinda hard to believe. Wasn't it you who last week came a-knockin' on her door trying to get her to talk about how our first date went?", he asked, kicking another pebble out of the way. "I mean, I may be hearing things, but that's what she told me. She doesn't really strike me as one to disclose her private life like that. Seems more like you wanting to know what's going on between me and her."

Kaitlyn stifled a chuckle as she swept some of her hair away, tucking it behind her ear as she walked in step with him. She had been had. "That may be true", she began, "but once you get her to open up a little bit about you, she can't stop, and that's not a lie. You've really made an impression on her, Punk."

"Yeah well, I'm not surprised. I'm kind of a big deal", he said with a smirk.

"So full of yourself, I definitely heard _that_ about you."

"I'm the best in the world, why wouldn't I be a little full of myself?", he responded back cockily, extending his arms outward like he would if he were walking down to the ring. "You don't succeed in this business without being sure of yourself. It's a fact of life", he followed up with. "Or, you know, you succeed by winning little contests that nobody watches and get gifted a spot on the roster."

That earned him a glare from her as she stopped, mouth slightly hung open, a shit-eating grin creeping across the lips of the WWE Champion. She shoved him some and he burst out into a large fit of laughter, doubling over, his hand across his gut as he tried to steady himself. Kaitlyn kept muttering _'It's not funny'_ under her breath while the Second City Saint kept howling with laughter. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, but then a devilish grin appeared on her lips, an imaginary lightbulb going off above her head as she turned to face him.

"Make your NXT jokes all you want, champ. Tell me though, how'd it feel riding in on John's mobster car before anyone knew you even existed?", he asked, the laughter ceasing almost immediately. It was now his turn to glare at her, shaking his head almost in disgust, though mostly disbelief. He went to say something, but she beat him to the punch, adding in, "Yes, I know all about that. I know my shit, Punk."

"Yeah, I can see why you and AJ are best friends", he remarked, scratching his beard as they came to a stop under a street light. "You just held your own though. I must say, I'm mildly impressed", he commented, folding his tattooed arms across his chest. "Not many people can trade barbs with me like that. I think I'll grow to like you. Eventually."

"And I've got no choice but to get used to you since you and AJ are practically attatched at the hip nowadays. But heads up, champ."

"It's already up."

"Cute. Anyways...AJ, she's my best friend. I'll do any and everything for that girl. So if I find out that-"

He waved her off. "Yeah yeah, I already know what you're gonna say", he said, looking slightly irritated that she would try to talk to him like this. He knew what the game was. Yeah, he was a jerk and an asshole, but for AJ...he'd do his best to keep his tendencies under wraps. "I'm sure you gave Danny Boy the same talk too, but this is different. Friend of mine or not, I'm not gonna turn into an overbearing, aggressive dick like he did. What he did to that girl was reprehensible and just wrong, but you really, honestly don't need to worry about that with me. She's a sweet girl, and-"

A ringing echoed through the air, stopping him mid-sentence. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes as she dug into her pocket to retrieve her phone, thinking it was her peculiar boyfriend texting her about something ridiculous, but was a little surprised to see that it was AJ who was the one texting her. Her eyes grew wider as she scrolled down and read the text, before she quickly put her phone back in her pocket, lips pursed together as she looked to Punk, who stood there confused by what was going on.

"We need to get back to the diner."

"Uh, why? What happened?"

"Derrick-"

"Say no more, let's get moving."

As the two of them hurried back to the diner in relative silence, Kaitlyn leaned into Punk's shoulder and nudged him in an attempt to get his attention, which it did. She gave him two thumbs up, a smile gracing her lips while they continued to walk. "Congrats, champ. You passed the best friend test. Which is more than what I can say about Daniel. He failed hard."

Thoughtful look on his face, the smallest of grins began to tug at Punk's lips as he nodded his head dutifully. He didn't say anything, nor did he feel the need to. He knew that he would treat AJ with the proper respect that a girl like her deserved. And though he didn't need anyone's blessing to do anything, part of him appreciated that she approved of him. Plus, the fact that D-Bry was pretty much reviled in AJ's little circle by everyone but her made him chuckle, and he knew he'd have to rub that in his old friend's face one day.

When the two of them arrived back at the diner, they saw a fire truck there, lights blazing in the night, an obviously peeved Derrick, who was animatedly getting into a very heated argument with what looked like the owner of the place, and a very concerned, wide eyed AJ off to the side, watching everything unfold like a car wreck you couldn't turn away from. When she spotted them, she pulled Derrick away from his argument and led him over to them, giving Derrick off to Kaitlyn, who smacked him upside his head, while Punk took AJ in his arms and hugged her. Standing on the very tip of her toes, she saw over Punk's shoulder that Kaitlyn was grinning and giving them two thumbs up. Smiling in the direction of her best friend, she simply nodded her head.

"You're not gonna believe what Derrick-", she began to say, but he shushed her rather quickly.

"Shhh. Don't talk, AJ. Let me have this for a minute before the stupid bastard comes over and ruins everything again."

He pecked her on the cheek, and they became red as she blushed madly. She felt like she was on top of the world as she tightened the hold she had around his neck. And nothing was going to knock her off her happy little perch.

* * *

**So that's that! I originally had the chapter being a little longer, but I figured it'd just be easier to divide everything I had written in half and do it that way. So sorry if it's shorter than usual! Hope you all enjoyed though. Next chapter will be up soon, as will the next chapter of my new story featuring our favorite couple, Crazy Is The New Sane. Thanks everyone! See ya soon!**


	12. respect

**Here's chapter 12, everyone! My deepest apologies for taking so long with updating this. I've been laboring through work and more work, not to mention various family obligations that have popped up as well. Hope y'all like this! This is a bridge for what will happen next chapter, and I can't wait to deliver that for you all. So here we go!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"Where are you taking me to?"

"Less questions, more walking woman. We're almost there anyways."

His hands were clasped around her eyes as he led her to their destination. Before that, on the half hour drive over from the hotel in LA that they were staying at, he had her blindfolded, wanting to keep his surprise for her just that; a surprise. All day and into the night, she had been bugging and pestering him about what he had planned, trying to weedle it out of him, but him being CM Punk, WWE Champion and professional hard-ass, he didn't once tip his hand to her and show him the cards he was keeping close to his chest. And this being AJ Lee, newly minted General Manager of Monday Night Raw and hyper-active geek goddess, not knowing what he was doing didn't sit very well with her.

"You know, I'm technically your boss", she said as he continued to lead her blindly to where ever the heck he was taking her. "I could strip you of the title if I wanted to..."

He chuckled to himself as he slowly led her down a narrow path, the end of their little walk in sight. Hands still covering her eyes, he leaned down and forward, so that his lips were near her ears. "And if you did that, I'd have to chop your body into little pieces and feed them to my sister's dog. I wonder how you'd taste...", he whispered, a smirk playing on his lips while she flailed her arms, trying in vain to smack him.

"Probably not as bad as you would. I'm pretty sure crusty, inked and greasy wouldn't be appetizing to _anyone_", she shot back with as they finally came to a stop. But his hands were still covering her eyes, and she pouted as she shifted and wriggled her body around so that his hands no longer covered her eyes, instead resting on the back of her head while she looked up into his green orbs and smiled. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud to anyone other than himself, every time he saw AJ's smile, it made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world to see something as radiant and pretty as that. Just the way she would light up the way she did, he couldn't help but feel good on the inside. If he was having a bad day, and could only look at one thing to help make it somewhat better, it'd have to be her smile. It was just...perfect.

"Hardy har har", he replied back sarcastically, quashing the the happy-go-lucky feelings brewing in the pit of his stomach. "I would taste awesome, being the best in the world and all. Now do me a favor and turn around, or you'll miss out on your surprise."

Nodding her head, AJ turned turned around and instantly, her jaw dropped as she took in the luminary scenery. Before her stood what she thought was the prettiest, most well decorated and beautiful little restaurant that she had laid her eyes on. It was the outdoor section of the place, tables in every direction she looked. Beautiful little bouquets of flowers and candles adorned the table tops, and rose petals were scattered everywhere. She peered around one of the many waiters zipping by and noticed the spacious-looking lounge on the inside, and to both her right and left, she saw tables on the other side of the windows and pillars, on the street. She must've looked like she was gawking and gaping at everything, because she didn't even notice Punk's tattooed fingers snapping in front of her eyes, trying to snap her out of her daze. Finally, after a couple more seconds, she blinked and shook her head, spinning on her heel to face Punk, who was wearing a welcome smile as she struggled with her words. All she wanted to do right now was kiss him profusely full on his lips and then find a quiet place and...she was getting ahead of herself.

"Go on, say it. I'm pretty fucking amazing, aren't I?", he said, his words ringing through her body, down to her bones, causing goosebumps to pop up on her arms. She just couldn't believe it; everything about what she just saw screamed romance, and how he had pulled this off, she didn't know. She almost didn't want to know, just so it would maintain the element of surprise, but that was besides the point. That he went out of his way to bring her here, where ever they were, for what she thought was a simple dinner date, floored her. It was so upscale and so unlike him...and then her thoughts quickly drifted to her appearance; she wasn't dressed for such a nice place like **this!** Everywhere she looked, she saw everyone wearing casual clothing, nice suits, blouses, slacks, heels, dress shoes...and here she was, wearing an Avengers tank-top that she customized herself, her usual assortment of bracelets and wrist bands, her favorite red shorts and her Converse...so underdressed! She began to look at herself up and down, and, as if he sensed what she was thinking, Punk placed his hand on her shoulder lightly, and instantly she calmed down, turning to look into his eyes.

"Don't get yourself all whipped up because we're both looking like we should be dressed for Comic Con rather than a four star restaurant. I am fully aware of this fact, so now would probably be a good time to tell you that I know a guy who used to work here who still has it good with the owner of this place, so he managed to get us a table on short notice. The autographed replica belt I sent his cousin probably helped with the process. And with all of that being said, you are now free to do whatever you want to me", he said with a chuckle, ruffling her hair a bit as she frowned at him messing up her hair. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, releasing a contented sigh as she melted into the side of his body, his arm instinctively wrapping itself around her slender frame.

"You never cease to amaze me, CM Punk. And you certainly know how to charm a girl, despite your past track record", she said with a light giggle as they began to walk to their table in the back, garnering odd and appalled looks from the older people sitting at the various tables. She could hear the whispers and see the sneers, but she didn't care; as far as she was concerned, it was just her and Punk. Everything else felt like white noise.

"I've told ya before and I'll tell ya again, m'lady. I'm kind of a big deal", he said cockily, but with a playful grin on his lips as he held her seat out for her, taking his own seat across from her shortly after that. "And please, you know you don't _have_ to call me Punk all the time..."

"You absolutely _hate_ being called Phil though", she responded back quickly with, biting down on her lip. "I mean, I feel like you're more comfortable with being called Punk...it's who you are."

He gave her his best sympathetic look, reaching across the table to take her tiny hand in his own tattooed one. "Who I am is Phil Brooks, and yes, while I do seriously dislike being called by my given name most times, I'm not gonna slam a chair into your face if you want to call me that every so often. If and when you start twisting my name into little cutesy nicknames is when I'll want to slam a chair into your face", he said, grinning as he ran his thumb over her knuckles, while their waiter arrived with an almost perturbed look on his face, almost like he was uncomfortable taking care of two...normal looking folks (though they were both anything **but** normal).

"Uh...hello there. Welcome to Il Cielo of Beverly Hills, my name is Walt, I'll be serving you this evening...what can I get you fine people to drink?", he asked rather uneasily, his eyes drifting back and forth between the many tattoos that adorned Punk's arms and hands. "Perhaps a glass of our finest white wine?"

"We don't drink", the two of them responded with in an instant, causing the young man standing in front of them to flinch a little bit at how they answered in sync so seamlessly. "Sorry about that", AJ said, quickly apologizing while Punk shook his head, hiding a grin.

"Water will be just fine, dude. And if you have it, Pepsi please, for me and the lady as well", he said with a smile as the waiter curtly nodded his head and was off to fetch their drinks. He couldn't help but laugh until he caught AJ's worried glance in the corner of his eye. He ceased all laughter and leaned forward to see what was bothering his favorite little crazy chick. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"You don't think that guy is gonna try anything funny, do you? He was looking at you oddly. He wouldn't stop staring at the one you have here", she said, pointing the scripture on the back of his left hand, reading it for a brief moment. "Huh. I never actually stopped to see what it said. No gimmicks needed?", she questioned, wondering what significance it held to him.

A reminiscent, almost sad smile spread across his lips as his eyes darted down to it. "Tribute to an old friend of mine who passed. The name Chris Candido ring a bell?", he asked as she nodded her head. "He always said that he didn't need a gimmick to get over in this business, and he never did. He was a great man that went too early."

AJ cocked her head to the side, eyebrow arched as she thought of what he just said. "But wait, wasn't he part of the Bodydonnas with Sunny?", she asked, quizzical look painted on her features. Punk's eyes went from that of his tattoo to her, giving her a slightly miffed look. "I ruined that little moment there, didn't I?", she said with a sheepish smile, her cheeks turning a flushed shade of red as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm adding buzz kill to the list of things that you are", Punk deadpanned as their waiter returned with their waters and Pepsi's. "Took ya long enough!", he exclaimed jokingly at the young man, whose eyes widened in shock. "I'm joking with you kid. You look like you gotta loosen up a bit. It's all good here."

"Please sir, I'm going to ask you nicely to please refrain from whatever juvenile behavior you partake in outside of whatever profession you have chosen for yourself. This is my job and I expect to be treated with respect", he says, AJ's eyes narrowing, her lips forming an 'o', like she couldn't believe someone dropped the 'respect' card in front of him. She then took a page out of Punk's book, pulling on the collar of her tank top. "You probably shouldn't have said that..."

"Why?", the waiter asked, unaware of the devilish little smirk forming on Punk's lips as he cracked his neck and prepared to go straight for the jugular, his jovial mood having changed swiftly to that of angst. "I was serious, this is my job and-"

"And you want to talk about respect?", Punk said, cutting the man off, his words coming across as steely and icy. "Do you even know what the word respect means? Let me tell you. Respect is what you're **not** showing me right now. Respect is what you're **not **showing my lady friend here either. Don't act like you weren't eyeballing my tattoos and my clothes. And don't act like you weren't checking her out either", he said, pointing to AJ, who had a small grin on her pink lips as she held her hands up, not saying anything. "Listen, I get it. I'm not like most people, and I never will be. But I made peace with that fact a long, long time ago. Either you accept it or you don't, and right now, I'm catching the vibe that you don't."

Sensing where this was going, the young man named Walt began to realize that perhaps he had over stepped his boundaries by openly ogling the ink of the angered man in front of him. And openly insulting him probably hadn't done him any favors as well. Slowly, he tried to back away, stammering his words, but Punk reached out and roughly grabbed the boy by his wrist, dragging him back, where he was now face to face with the WWE Champion, who had risen from his seat, while AJ did her best not to burst out into giggle fits at how awesome this whole thing was. This angry side of Punk outside of the ring was something she hadn't seen before...and she had to admit, she was liking it. He looked_ hot_ while he was pissed off.

"You do **not** walk away from me when I'm talking to you. Now, get this. I brought my lady friend, whom I like very much, out here because I wanted to give her a nice little surprise while we're out here in California for the week. I didn't bring here to be looked up and down at like a piece of meat and I certainly didn't come here to have you judge me like some pretentious, self absorbed, spineless jackass. I'd hate to have to do this", Punk growled, bringing the boy to his face, his hot breath smacking him in the face. "But don't think for one second that I won't hesitate to shatter every single tooth in that mouth of yours. I'm the WWE Champion. Show me some respect, or I'll teach you what it's all about."

"That's why", AJ responded simply. Punk let go of the boy's collar, causing him to stumble backwards into an empty table, a scared, deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes as he scampered away, somewhere out of sight. A satisfied smirk on his lips, Punk sat back down, glancing over at AJ; she was smiling. A little taken back at the ferocity of the situation, but smiling nonetheless. "So were you what they had in mind when the phrase _'Don't poke the bear'_ was coined?", she asked him, causing the two of them to chuckle.

"I'm sorry about that AJ. I usually try my best to keep my anger in check when in public but..."

"Don't be sorry", she responded quickly. "That guy was asking for it. I saw how he was looking at you and your tats...and the fact that he was checking me out makes me feel kinda skeeved out..."

"Oh, he wasn't checking you out", Punk said. "I just wanted him to think he was. Make him piss his pants, you know?"

A big, wide smile spread across AJ's lips. Sure, she would admit that it was a bit of a bummer that he hadn't referred to her as his girlfriend, but she knew he wasn't ready to fully come forth with his feelings for her like that, and frankly, she wasn't necessarily ready to jump head first into another, new relationship just yet either, even if it was Punk, even if she knew he wouldn't hurt her like Daniel would, even if her best friend did approve of him, even if she was wanting to show him just how much she appreciated all of what he was doing for her tonight in her own special way. But right now, she was really digging how everything was going between them. It was moving at an acceptable rate.

"You never cease to amaze me...Phil."

**xXx**

She sighed contentedly as she put her phone down. It was now Saturday afternoon, and she was sitting in the bus all by herself; Punk was out at the Nokia Theater doing the roster reveal for the new WWE video game that hit shelves in October, one that he found himself on the cover of, while Kofi and Truth were out at a Be A Star rally at a nearby elementary school. Deciding she wanted to go for a walk, she grabbed her belongings and strode out of the bus, making sure the doors were closed. Slipping her sunglasses on, she looked up at the blue skies and smiled; it was a wonderful day to take this walk and enjoy the California weather.

After a while, she found herself sitting at a table at a local park, watching as kids and their parents flew by, enjoying themselves. She got so wrapped up in watching them all, she hadn't even noticed the behemoth of a man walking up and taking residence on the side opposite her. When she felt the entire table shift, she glanced over and smiled at the giant sitting across from her.

"Hey Show!", she exclaimed, waving happily to him. "What brings you out here?"

"I thought I'd ask you the same question, kiddo", he said back to her. "Every time I've seen you, you've been attached to Punk's hip and shadowing him, so it's a bit surprising to see you out here all by yourself."

"I don't shadow him, per se...I just _really_ enjoy his company, that's all", she said, blushing slightly as she adjusted her sunglasses. "And besides, he's doing the roster reveal for WWE '13 right now, and I've got an interview in a few hours so we're probably not gonna see each other till much later, so hah to your theory", she said, sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Uh huh, alright, whatever you say kiddo", the giant said with a hearty chuckle. "So how've you been? How's the new responsibility treating you? Breaking your back yet?", he asked as the subject turned to work.

"I'm really enjoying the chance I've been given, I'm so thankful...and getting to work closely with guys like you and John, my friends, it's great. And well, you probably already know what I'd say about getting to work with Phil again..."

"First name basis huh? Bastard must really like you if he's letting you call him that", Show quipped, a smile forming on his lips. "I've known him for close to six years, since our ECW days, and he still threatens to sock me in the adams apple when I call him Phil. You're one of the lucky ones."

"Luck is for losers, Show!", she responded, laughing at how much Punk really was beginning to rub off on her, while Show shook his head, grinning as he scratched away at his beard, muttering to himself that the female version of Punk was upon them all.

"Speaking of him, though, there's something I wanted to talk to you about", he said, speaking up, which in turn piqued AJ's interest. Maybe he had divulged something to Show about her? It had to be something good. But she wasn't prepared for what the gentle giant was going to say to her next. "You know this recent heel turn they've got him doing, right?"

"Yeah...what about it?", she asked hesitantly, sensing that this conversation wasn't going to go the way she wanted it to. An uneasy feeing began to brew in the pit of her stomach. _'That can't be a good sign',_ she thought to herself as she waited for the big man to continue.

"He uh...he...well, lets just say he really gets into them, and when he really gets into heeling it up and getting everyone to hate him...he really, really gets everyone to hate him, on and off camera. He pulls no punches and has no boundaries. You could be someone like me, a co-worker, or even his family, and he'd still find a way to make you want to knock his damn lights out. I know I almost wanted to a few summers ago."

AJ's heart sank a bit at the words that were coming out of Show's mouth. She had only been on the main roster for a little over a year and a half now, right in the middle of his big run as the conquering hero champion, and hadn't seen much of his asshole-ish tendencies. Oh yeah, of course she had heard the stories from fellow wrestlers all the way down to the guys who helped set up the ring at every show, but she had yet to really see him act like a complete ass. She was hoping she never would...but this made her feel like things were about to change between the two of them, and not for the better.

"He's changed", she said, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that fact. "You don't see him when it's just me and him..."

"That's right, I don't. But I do see and have seen him when he's around the boys, and to be completely honest with you, kiddo, most of us want to beat the crap out of him when he gets on his high horse like that. Listen, I like ya, kid. You're like a little sister to a big old bastard like me, so I only want what's best for you. If hanging around Punk all the time is what you want, then go for it. I just thought I'd give you the heads up. Last thing I or any of us want to see is you hurt like after you and Bryan broke up. Just...be on the look out, kiddo", he said as honestly and truthfully as he possibly could, standing up and patting her on her head as he bid her good bye so he could return to his wife and children back at the hotel. She half heartedly waved him goodbye, her mind racing a mile a minute.

_'He's not gonna be like that',_ she thought. _'He was such a sweetheart and gentleman the other night when we went out to dinner...how could he just change so quickly? He won't. He won't. I know he won't. Everything will be just fine. Everything will be just fine...'_

Little did she know how much things could drastically change over the course of one month...

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**And that's that. Hope you all like it. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and liked this story, you all keep me going, so much thanks! Crazy Is The New Sane will be updated shortly, as will this, so keep your eyes peeled! **


	13. opposite directions

**Aaaaaand here's lucky number 13! Got this done a lot earlier than I thought I would, so here you go everyone. Quick thoughts on Raw...I enjoyed it. Probably the best Raw since they've moved to 3 hours. The opening segment was pure GOLD and gave me inspiration for another possible story down the road. The very end though...not so much. I absolutely hate entertaining the idea of _Ryback_ of all people challenging Punk for the title at Hell In A Cell. I'm not the biggest Cena supporter by any means, but I'll take him any day of the week compared to the T-1000. [/end rant] lol. And with that, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

AJ watched backstage as Punk milked in the responses from the rabid crowd, clutching the WWE Title close to his toned and tattooed chest as he made his way up the ramp, Paul closely behind, whispering words of encouragement into Punk's ear as the Boston fans took turns alternating between cheering him and booing the ever loving crap out of him, respectively. She saw him yell something at the crowd, but she couldn't quite make out what it was he was saying, despite being fairly adept at reading lips. Over the course of the last month (ever since SummerSlam, actually), she had begun to notice, much to her chagrin and disappointment, subtle changes in Punk's attitude and behavior. Big Show's words kept buzzing around her head like an unwanted bee, but she was slowly beginning to take his words at face value.

Nothing had _really_ changed about him till he had his cage match against Jerry and then Paul showed up in Chicago when they were doing Raw the next week. Now, she wasn't dumb, and she didn't break into the business yesterday. She knew the influence that Paul had on Phil's (she had taken to calling him that more often, whether he liked it or not) career, seeing as he was the main reason Phil had even been signed by Vince seven long years ago. He was a self professed _'Paul Heyman guy'_, and he had been riding that horse ever since he signed his first contract. She knew that Paul was a dear, close friend of his...but she was also wise enough to understand how conniving and clever the balding man from New York was. She had heard the rumors of how he didn't think someone like her, a _'teenager'_ as he put it, should have so much power, but the kicker was that he meant _'no disrespect'_ with his comments. It infuriated her to no end, and she wanted to believe that Punk didn't listen to Paul's words when it came to her, she **really** did, but she kept her guard up at all times. And the fact that he was traveling less and less with her and more with Paul didn't do any favors to her already unsettled nerves...

"I see you're still soaking wet."

She turned around to see Punk, covered in his own sweat, a grin on his lips as the WWE Title hung loosely on his shoulder. Instinctively, she smiled up at him, walking over to embrace him in a hug. She squirmed around in his arms as he dug his sweaty face into her neck and hair, laughing as his muffled words tickled her skin. But the goofiness soon faded when she saw Paul walking toward them, looking disinterested in the little moment that the two of them were sharing. At least he had the common decency to let them finish what they were doing, even if he tapped his foot on the ground impatiently and looked as if he would rather be anywhere but Boston.

"Phil, we need to get moving", he said, motioning with his head to the hall behind them that led to the parking lot, where the bus was located. "We've got a tight schedule to keep and I'd like to be in the next city by two thirty, so-"

"You go, Paul. I'm gonna ride with AJ tonight...if it's okay with you, that is", Punk said, adding extra emphasis on the last few words, giving him the hint that he'd like to be left alone. Paul shot him a mildly shocked look, before turning his gaze to AJ, a sarcastic smile on his sour-looking lips as he addressed her.

"I see you'd rather spend your time with a little girl tonight than get more important things done", he said, ignoring the irked look growing on her face. "But if that's what you want, then I'm not going to argue with you. Good night, Phil. Miss Mendez, _always_ a pleasure", he said sarcastically as he turned on his heel and walked away. Punk noticed her tiny hand balling up into a fist and put a comforting, reassuring hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

"He makes me so **mad!**", she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air for effect. "Where does he get off saying those things to me! He doesn't even know me!"

"AJ, relax. What have I told you about what Paul says about you?", he said, snaking his arm around her waist as they walked down the hall to where the dressing room was. "He comes from a different era than us. Back in his days, girls like you had one purpose to him, and that was to take their clothes off. He sometimes has a hard time grasping the fact that a girl like you could have such huge responsibility. Basically what I'm saying is, just ignore him."

"It's kind of hard to when he follows you everywhere you go", she mumbled under her breath as she watched him walk into the room real quick, exiting with his bags, a smirk on his lips as he held his phone out.

"You mean like you kinda still do?", he asked jokingly, pulling the camera up. "Hold still, I gotta immortalize this picture for all of the Twitter world to see", he said, laughing to himself at how peeved she looked to be still soaking wet from earlier as he snapped the picture. "Damn, Kane got you pretty good, didn't he."

"Daniel and the good doctor got the most of it, but I think he made sure he splashed some of it on me", she said, showing off her wet clothes as she picked up her flats and walked forward, Punk following closely behind. "And hey, I don't follow you around that much anymore! I'll have you know that I've been traveling with Kait the last week, while you and Paul were having your little love-fests with each other", she said teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him as they neared the bus.

Punk rolled his eyes at her comment, wiping some sweat off his brow as he lugged his bags behind him, trying to keep up with the tiny spitfire. Truthfully, he had missed traveling with her quite a bit, as her presence was certainly missed on the bus. But it had been so, so long since he had actually had the time to sit down and just shoot the shit with Paul for more than five minutes at a time, he made sure to take advantage of it. The man was the reason he even got a chance here, and he'd be forever grateful for it. The fact that the two of them were now working together was something like a dream come true for him. He understood where AJ was coming from at the moment, but...well, she wouldn't understand the bond that him and Paul shared with one another.

"They're not love-fests, woman", he said as they reached the outside, the cold, Boston air hitting him in the face, stinging a bit as he saw that the bus was in sight. "The guy is the reason I was even on Vince's radar all those years ago. Wouldn't you want to spend as much time as you could with the person who got your foot in the door here?", he asked her as he opened the doors to the bus, following AJ inside before shutting them, finding it empty; Kofi and Truth must've been out with some of the boys, he assumed.

"Actually no, considering the guy who got my foot in the door is one of your all time favorite people", she said, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word 'favorite'. She saw the scowl form on Phil's lips and she grinned, and she could've swore she heard him mumble something about Laurinaitis being a 'massive, overbearing douche bag.' She walked into the back and looked around, a puzzled look on her face. "My stuff is still here, right?", she asked, before something dawned on her. "Kofi didn't hide my bag somewhere did he...because I'll claw his eyes out if he did..."

Just then, out of nowhere, Punk's tattooed arm shot forward, the small, red bag dangling from his fingers, a happy look on AJ's face as she took it and zipped it open, grabbing the towel from it and racing to the shower, where she quickly closed the door behind her and disrobed. "Don't even **think** of peeking, Phil!", she yelled out as she finished removing the last part of her clothes and turned the shower head on and letting the warm water work it's magic.

"Wouldn't dream of it", he murmured absent-mindedly as he dug through his own bag, looking for something amongst his gear, comics and various other items. He eventually pulled out a small plastic bag and smiled as he placed it down on the coffee table behind him. He slumped down onto the couch, running his hand across his buzzed scalp. He was starting to miss the way he had his hair before, with some depth and volume, gelled back all the time. But if he was going to heel things up, he had to look the part. "So, are you using me for my shower and then leaving, or are you staying the night again?", he called out to her as he stood up and walked to the back towards his bed, making sure to look the other way as AJ continued with her cleansing. "Because while you've been away and I've been having so called _'love fests'_ with Paul, Truth's been crashing here with me and Kofi, and-"

"I'm staying tonight, so long as that's alright with your best friend", she said, the last few words coming out more bitterly than she had expected. The warm water felt like tiny droplets of heaven on her tanned skin; she forgot how awesome it was to take a shower in here as opposed to a rinky dink hotel shower. "And it's not so much me being away, it's more so you going into full on bromance mode with Paul and me getting cast to the side. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the two of you would put Zack and Derrick and Cody and Ted both to shame."

Punk found himself rolling his eyes once more at AJ's comments. Yes, again, he understood where she was coming from right now; he had pretty much neglected her ever since Paul came back into the fold to work with him. Their segments together were a bit more chippy and snarkier than expected, and he didn't like that. He sounded like a broken record seeing as he'd never admit this to anyone but himself, but he had missed her, even if it wasn't as bad as he kind of made it out to be. He missed their late night get togethers, really. And her company. And her laugh. And her smile. And...he shook his head of the thoughts. He knew she was upset, but this was _Paul Heyman_. A living legend in the business. A man that he respected immensely. A man that showed him respect right back. And that's what it all was coming down to, nowadays.

**Respect.**

Choosing to ignore her words, he flopped down onto the bed, limbs stretched out like he was making snow angels. "The bed is all yours again then", he commented, staring at the ceiling. His whole body ached, but then again, it usually did after he and John went to war. The way that the two of them went at each other tonight was no different than it had been a year ago. He didn't dare watch the match; he was satisfied with what the agents and some of the guys in the back said about it, people whose opinions actually held weight with him. Punk knew when he was on his game and when he was absolute dog shit, and tonight, he knew him and John hit it out of the park tonight. "You almost done in there? Champions gotta shower too, you know", he called out to her as he sat up and began to unravel his wrist tape.

"And you should know that I enjoy taking showers, so hush!", she yelled right back. She opened her eyes to see Punk's shadow hovering outside the door, and they grew wide with implications. "Phil! What are you doing!?", she cried, covering herself up with her hands.

"Don't worry you prude, I'm just hanging my gear up, don't crucify me", he spoke back, and, like he said, she saw his Yankees-inspired pinstriped trunks and kick pads hanging over the top of the shower. Which meant he was naked. AJ allowed her mind to drift for a moment, wondering just what kind of heat the 'Best In The World' was packing...her lips curled up into a goofy-looking smile as she thought about how he could be in bed...and her mind soon wandered from her daydreaming and fangirling to wondering why in the hell the water had just become so scalding hot and...

"PHIL! WHY!?", she screeched, turning the water off, his laughter echoing through the bus as she grabbed her towel and stepped out, seeing him doubled over, slapping his knee as the toilet finished flushing. A scowl forming on her face, she first tied her towel up around her body so that nothing would be revealed, and then walked over to him and shoved him in his head, watching him fall backward and flat on his ass. It was her turn to start laughing, watching him fumble around on the floor for a moment before shooting back up to his feet, looking pissed off that she would do that to him. But just as quickly as the angered look was on his face, it disappeared and the two of them laughed with each other. Damn, he had missed this.

"I missed this", AJ then said, almost as if she was poking around in his head. She wandered to the back of the bus, swinging the curtain shut so she could get dressed. A couple of minutes later, she walked out, wearing an H2O hoodie that he had given her and her favorite Pikachu pajama bottoms. He had to admit (to himself, naturally) that she looked pretty damn cute. It was the hoodie, he thought to himself. Had to be.

"So what's the plan for tonight, Philly?", she asked sweetly, sitting down next to him on the couch, nestling her head into the crook of his neck as his arm drifted across her body. He went to say something about how he was going to kick her teeth in for calling him that, but he leaned over to his left and caught a whiff of his man stink and his face soured.

"A shower first because I fucking reek", he said, somewhat regrettably getting up and detaching himself from AJ's grip, ignoring the pout that was sure to come. "Don't pout, child. I just went a half hour with John tonight, I need one and you know it. I'll only be a few minutes, you know to make yourself comfy."

He disappeared down the way, a few seconds later she heard the water turn on. So there she sat, taking in the homeyness that the bus provided her, reaching for the remote that turned on the TV in the corner. When she reached for it, she felt her fingers graze across something plasticky. Grabbing it, she held the bag up and observed the item enclosed inside of it. Opening the bag, she slid it out and watched as it fell into her palm, holding it up to see what it was and...she just about _died_ on the inside. It was a solid gold Pikachu necklace. **Solid gold.** **Pikachu.** She smoothed her finger across the surface of it, not believing it. Where did he get this? He must've paid a fortune...she undid the clasp and slid it across her neck, having it fall into place right in-between her collarbones. She stood up and looked at her reflection in the window...it was perfect. She couldn't believe that he'd do something so nice for her. Daniel rarely did anything like this...and the two of them had dated for close to five and a half months. Her and Phil weren't even at the dating aspect of their relationship yet. She was speechless.

Lost in her reverie was the shower turning off and Punk, in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, was standing there, watching her, a small grin on his lips. "So, I see you found your gift."

She whirled around to face him, and without even thinking or having any regard for the fact that one herky-jerky move and he'd be bare ass naked, she ran and leapt into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck and legs around his waist, peppering him with kisses everywhere she could. Eyes, forehead, nose, cheeks, lips, even his ears weren't safe from the onslaught of happiness that she was showering him with. He grinned, chuckled even, as she continued, securing his arm around her torso to steady the two of them so that they didn't fall over. He knew she was feisty, but this was something else. She wouldn't stop!...not that he minded or anything. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the bed, AJ on top of and straddling him, still covering him with kisses. Eventually, her need for air surpassed her need to kiss the crap out of Punk, and she removed her lips from his face region, hands on his chest to steady herself as she looked down at the goofy, shit-eating grin he was wearing on his lips.

Her breathing heavy, she too had the same grin on her lips as she felt the necklace in her fingers, happiness swelling up throughout her body. "You...didn't need...to do...this", she choked out. "This must...have cost...you...a fortune."

Punk put his hands behind his head as he looked up to the brunette spitfire, smiling at her. "Nah, not really. I was back home at the mall with my sisters and one of them pointed it out to me. Guy behind the counter gave me a discount, because, you know, I'm pretty awesome. And I don't need to ask to know that you really like it. I'm glad you do. But uh, AJ...", he said, eyes drifting between her and the towel that was still covering the lower half of his body. He was gonna regret this, but he wasn't ready for that step, no way. He knew she wasn't either, despite the building tension between them. "I've still got a towel wrapped around me, it's late, and...yeah", he said, trying to give her the hint.

Her eyes widened, and she immediately (though just as regrettably as him) removed herself from his nearly naked body, allowing him to stand up. She hugged him tightly, and then placed one last kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Punk, Phil, whatever. You don't know how much I appreciate and love this. I'm never gonna take it off."

Punk smiled down at her and pulled her into his body, arms around her slender frame, placing a kiss on her forehead. "You're welcome, April. I'm really glad you like it."

The two of them remained in each other's embrace, just holding each other. Neither of them not knowing the divide that was going to come between them...

**xXx**

_"Oh, am I acting crazy, AJ? Am I acting crazy!?"_

She retreated to her office after that little confrontation. Left without having said a word to him after the camera stopped rolling. She knew he was only saying it to further the storyline, but that still didn't make the sting of his words any easier to absorb. So there she sat, in her chair, facing the corner, turned away from the door. She bit down hard on her lip in an attempt to not shed tears. It was just one word. One word. One. Word.

The door swung open, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Punk, alone, and out of breath. He wore a worried look on his face in-between catching his breath and steadying himself. "AJ?", he asked as he continued to pant. "AJ, are you alright?"

AJ swiveled around in her chair to face him, doing her best to compose herself. She pawed away at a stray tear that found it's way down her cheek and took a deep breath. "Why did you use that word?", she asked as calmly as she could.

"What, crazy?", he asked, oblivious to her eye twitching at the uttering of that word. "AJ, you know I don't _mean it_..."

"Yet you still said it. You know how much I **hate** that word. You know how hard I've been trying to escape the notion that I'm not that word. Everyone still thinks I am..."

Punk went to move forward, attempting to comfort her, but she held her hand out and stopped him right dead in his tracks. "April...come on. You know I only said it for the purpose of what's going on...you know I don't really think you are."

"I think it's best that you leave right now. Leave and go spend time with your best buddy Paul. I'll talk to you whenever."

Punk's eyes widened; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Especially after the little tender moment they shared last night on the bus. Now she was just telling him to buzz off, all because he was doing his job as the heel and as the champion? His emotions ranged between pissed off and upset. "AJ...don't do this."

"Go. Now._ Please_", she almost pleaded with him, having turned back around in her chair, unable to bear facing him right now. Punk looked like he had all of the life sucked out of him, his jaw hung open and eyes devoid of emotion. AJ heard him exit without a word, except for him calling out to Paul, but she didn't bother to listen to that conversation. She stood up, and without reason, flung all the items off of her desk, breaking down into tears, all alone in her office.

She wasn't crazy...they were the crazy ones. Not her...

* * *

**And that's that. Kinda cruel to end it on that bittersweet note, please don't kill me! Everything will get better...eventually. See ya soon!**


	14. all we've got is each other

**First update of October! I absolutely love this month. It's got the second best holiday of the year next to Christmas. Halloween totally rules. And so do all of you! Much thanks again to everyone who reads this story. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Here we go!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

_It's been nearly a week and counting since I last talked to him. I can't even begin to describe how hard it was doing that promo on Monday night. Every single part of me just wanted to break script (because, you know, I'm known for that) and jump into his arms and kiss him till I couldn't breathe anymore. But the way he looked at me...the way he delivered his words...it all hurt so much. And then there was Paul. Ugh! I can't stand him. I don't know how Phil can be friends with such a sleaze like him. He's always shooting me dirty looks whenever I see him, he's always putting me down...and the worst thing is that Phil doesn't do anything about it. I don't know where we stand right now...but I do know one thing, and that's that I miss the hell out of him. I know that it's my fault, that I'm the one that turned him away because I overreacted like a child...I just want to be able to apologize and hug him and take in his scent and everything. Believe it or not, but I was gonna ask him to be my boyfriend after he gave me that necklace. I probably won't get the chance to do that now, though. There's someone knocking on my door...I should go._

Closing the black book that was her diary, AJ rubbed her temples and sighed. Her head was, predictably, throbbing on and off, not to mention the fact that her entire body felt like silly putty from the whole not sleeping/kicking one's ass in the gym constantly routine she found herself falling into ever since she ceased communication with Punk. Groaning her discontent at being bothered so early before show time, she flung the door to her office open and was surprised to see who it was standing in front of her.

"You gonna let me in or do I have to skip around in a circle before I can enter?", John asked, grinning as she stepped to the side and let him in without any problems. "Nice little place you got here. I dig the Converses in the corner", he said, pointing with his good arm to the black hi tops with hot pink laces that resided in said corner. He took a seat on the couch while AJ sat across from him on the love seat, eyeing the petite brunette with intrigue as she began to question him.

"What brings you here John?", she asked curiously, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be here tonight, that he was supposed to be back in Boston rehabbing his surgically repaired elbow. The fact that he was here, in the middle of Missouri, made her stand at attention and think something was up.

John took a quick look around the office, and looked above her to see if the door was fully closed, before leaning forward, all joking gone from his face and posture, a serious look now replacing it. "What did you do to Punk and why is he acting like more of a dick than he usually does? He kept acting like a child when I spoke to him over the phone last."

_Well, that was right to the point,_ she silently mused. _I'm surprised he didn't try and aim for my jugular,_ she continued to herself as she tried her best to wipe the shocked look off of her face. She saw the stone cold look of determination in his eyes, and she knew that John wasn't going to go away easily. Not like Kaitlyn, Sheamus, Show, Layla...all of them tried to see what was up, and she waved them all off. It was almost too easy with them, really. With John...not so much. "I don't know what you mean. How could he be acting like a bigger jerk when he's already the biggest jerk in the entire locker room?"

He shot her a look that she interpreted as him almost saying _'Seriously?'_, and a small, albeit brief smile slid across her lips before she cleared her throat. "I honestly don't know what you mean by that question though, John. Why are you assuming I had something to do with it? Maybe he's just being his usual surly self, just amplified."

"Normally, I'd agree with you on such a statement...but then I heard him mutter your name under his breath when we spoke over the phone, not to mention he was doing the same thing last week when I saw him, and it hit me that maybe you two had a bit of a disagreement, an argument..."

AJ stiffened at John's insinuations. She hadn't talked about it with anyone because she didn't want it to become a distraction, and distractions in this line of duty were something that could wreak havoc on one's career. Sure, she had written about it in her diary, but that was completely different than speaking to another person about it. She so desperately wanted to shoo John away and be left alone, but again, this was John. He looked out for his friends, and this was no exception. Right now though, she was wishing that he wasn't so loyal to those that he considered close.

"He said something stupid and I overreacted. I told him to leave me alone and we haven't spoken since. He must've taken it personally, if he's that mad."

"Did he call you crazy or something like that?"

Her left eye twitched slightly at the mere mention of the **'c'** word. She bit down on her tongue, not wanting to drive another friend away because of her insecurities and hatred over that dirty, filthy word. It was the exact reason why her and Punk weren't currently on speaking terms. She wasn't about to push John in the opposite direction when all he wanted to do was help.

"Yes...yes, he did", she sighed. "And I don't know why I let it bother me as much as I did. He was only saying it as part of the script, and he's called me it before. He's the only person I let call me that. I guess I didn't like the tone in which he said it...I don't really know. I just took it the wrong way and we haven't spoken in a week because of it", she confessed, lowering her gaze to that of her thumbs, which she was twiddling with back and forth. John removed his hat, using his good hand to run it across his buzzed head, exhaling a sigh as he watched AJ's hair fall over her face.

"Have you given any thought to, you know, just talking to him?", he asked simply, watching her raise her head slowly to look at him. "I mean, I managed to catch him last week right before I left to go back home and continue rehab, like I said. Sat him down and everything. Even talked to him again over the phone again the other day, again like I said."

AJ's eyes grew a little wide, but her shock was suppressed with a snort and a bitter chuckle. She had a hard time believing that Punk would willingly sit down with John and talk about their...special relationship. Or that John would force a conversation like that on him. Or that he'd even bring it up in the first place, knowing how fiercely private Punk was about mostly everything.

"Forgive me if this sounds totally unlike me, John, but the likelihood of you having that kind of talk with Punk is as likely as Vickie getting named the sexiest woman alive. It's just not gonna friggin' happen, you know?", she said with a half smile, half knowing look. He nodded his head, acknowledging her point and the truth of said words, but the grin on his lips didn't wipe away with them.

"Oh, he never told you, did he? I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. This is_ Punk_ we're talking about here..."

Her head spun around as if it was on a swivel to face him, a questioning look in her eyes and written across her face as she bit down on her lip, wondering just what the one armed leader of the Cenation could be getting at. Tucking a strand of her wavy brunette locks behind her ear, she eyed him curiously, while he had the simplest of grins on his lips. "What do you know that I don't, John? And don't beat around the bush, either! What did Punk tell you?"

"Me and him had a talk the night after Money In The Bank, right after Raw. He was getting down on himself because he stepped aside and gave D-Bry a chance to try and make up with you. So I kinda nudged him in the right direction and told him to give you a call", he said, like the weight of his words didn't just come crashing down on her shoulders like a massive boulder. She looked at him with nothing but sheer astonishment as she struggled to find the words to use.

"You're kidding, right?", she blurted out before sealing her lips tightly. It took all John had to not burst into laughter. She shook her head and took a deep breath, exhaling quickly in an attempt to try and calm and control herself. "I mean...really? You were the one to tell him to go for it? Don't hate me if I find that hard to believe."

"I don't, but yeah, it's true. Heard him call you right after I left the room that night. So I'm gonna leave you with two things. One, you're welcome", he said with a grin, standing up from the couch and ruffling her hair, eliciting a giggle as she swatted at his hand to get him to stop. "And two, go talk to the bastard. It's obvious he wants to talk to you as much as you want to talk to him."

AJ stood up and gave him an awkward hug due to his injured elbow, and stood on her toes to give John a kiss on the cheek. "That's twice you've helped me and Punkers. Do you secretly moonlight as a guardian angel? You got wings underneath that shirt of yours?", she asked, smiling at the thought while John grinned and mouthed 'Punkers?', making sure to stash that in the back of his head so he could rib the champ with it later. Tipping his hat, he bid the brunette spitfire adieu and exited her office quietly. Alone once more, she reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She knew what she had to do.

_Punk? Can we talk? Please?_

She put the phone back into her pocket, anxiously waiting, hoping, almost foolishly, that he'd respond immediately. A few minutes went by without a response, and she grew impatient. Just then, the words _'I'm Batman'_ (his personal ringtone that she gave him) echoed lightly through the small room, she snatched her phone and read the message he sent back.

**Why?**

_Because...I made a mistake last week and...I miss you..._

**Later. We'll talk...later.**

**xXx**

His eyes stared at the message he had just sent her, giving into her request to talk. He wasn't entirely sure that he even wanted to do so, but it had to be done at some point, he figured. Sighing and scratching his chin, he looked up to see the man in the purple v-neck and gave him an odd look. He was stretching his legs in a way that not even he had ever seen before, and he didn't know what to make of what he was seeing.

"What did you say to her?"

"I, I uh...told her that we'd talk later, and can you please stop doing that? I don't know whether to be disturbed or amazed, but I'm leaning towards the former."

The man in front of him grinned as he slid his sunglasses up above his eyes, giving him a clear look at the WWE Champion, sitting in his stall and brooding, gripping his phone like it was going to grow a set of legs and run off if he put it down. Sitting down next to Punk, he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and flashed another grin. "Bro, don't worry about my stretching routine. Worry about what you're gonna do next when it comes to little AJ."

"And just what the hell am I doing next when it comes to her?", he asked almost incredulously. "I feel like I'd of had a better shot going to Kofi with this problem. I mean, let's face it Zack...you're not exactly the expert when it comes to figuring women out."

An offended look spread across Zack's tanned face, shaking his head at the stigma that he wasn't what he hyped himself up to be with the ladies. He had numerous conquests before, and he was sure he'd have more of them lined up in the future. The only person that seemed to believe his statements of being a lady killer were John, and well, John wasn't around to back him up. But that was besides the point right now. This wasn't about him, it was about his first ever broski of the week needing his advice. Advice he was surely going to impart though hell or high water.

"I'll just happily ignore your harsh words there, bro, and focus on why you came to me in the first place. You said you told her that you'd talk later, right?", he asked, taking a moment to grab the small vanity mirror out of his bag and hold it up so he could check out his perfectly spiked hair. "I'm not hearing anything."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right. I did", Punk muttered absent-mindedly, the focus being on his phone, almost hoping that she'd plead with him to talk right now, and not later. Yes, he was still mad as all hell with her for taking his words out of context and acting the way she did when she knew he didn't mean any of the words he said. But that didn't stop him from missing the living hell out of her, even if it only was Friday night, less than a week since it happened. And the fact that he was getting himself all worked up like this over a girl (even if it was a pretty chill girl like AJ) drove him crazy. He wasn't supposed to be interested in relationships. It was supposed to be him, his career, his WWE Title, and that was that.

She made sure that stance changed. It had been a little over two months, since the aftermath of Money In The Bank, and they had hung out too many times for him to count, mostly staying up till the ass crack of dawn in the bus, they had been on a few dates here and there...and yet, he hadn't mustered up the courage to kiss her. Not some little kiss on the cheek or her forehead or even her hair, no. A legitimate kiss. Their first one (he didn't count the times she laid one on him during their initial program.) It was silly, really. All he had to do was just take her in his arms and plant one on her. It pissed him off to no end that he was being such a big pussy about the entire thing. He was going to do it on the bus after he had given her her necklace...but he pussed out again. _'Gah'_, he thought to himself, drowning out Zack's mindless drivel. _'Just talk to her...clear the air...and then just fucking do it. You're a god damn grown man, not some pre-teen dork. Just do it!'_

**"BRO!"**

He shook his head and nearly fell backwards into his stall. Shooting Zack an irritated look, he righted himself and threw his hands up in frustration. "What the _hell_, man!?"

"You weren't listening, you had this far away look in your eye. Pay the hell attention, bro, this is where it gets good."

"I wasn't paying attention because I was thinking about AJ, you dick. Pardon me if I've actually got a woman in my life that isn't made up or, in some cases, my right or left hand", he responded, a sarcastic looking grin spread across his lips while Zack sneered at him, muttering some choice words under his breath about the WWE Champion. "Now what were you saying about this is where it gets good?"

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. So you told her you'd talk to her later, correct?"

"Again, yes, I did. Are you going to arrive at a point sometime within the next year?"

Shooting Punk a glare, Zack shook his head and ran his fingertips through his spiked hair. "You want my help or not, bro?"

**"JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO NEXT!"**, Punk yelled in Zack's face, causing the Long Island native to shrink back in his seat, nearly falling off and onto the floor. Straightening himself out and making sure his hair was still perfectly spiked, he went into his delivery, still hints of a grin on his lips.

"You don't talk to her later. You make her wait, which in turn means you wait as well. You wait until you feel you can't wait any longer, and then that's when you go and talk to her. So you're not talking to her after the show tonight."

Punk stared at Zack like he had grown an extra head or two. Brows arched, lips sewn shut and an odd look in his eyes, he parted his lips to let his tongue slide across his lip ring, pondering the words of the self proclaimed Internet Champion. He weighed the pros and cons of the advice given to him for a moment in his head before...he burst out laughing. He couldn't stop. He couldn't help himself. He tried getting words out, but the laughter overtook everything. He saw the former United States Champion giving him a very unimpressed look, hands folded across his chest as he shook his head.

"If you think it's so funny, _Punk_, then try and go talk to her now. I guarantee you'll turn around and come right back here."

He stopped laughing at that, catching his breath while he gave the Long Island Iced Z an astonished look, but he shook his head and grinned. "You wanna take a bet on that, Ryder?"

"Hell yeah, bro! If you win, I'll carry your bags for a week. But if I win, and I will, you...you gotta wear my new shirt here backstage for a week. And the glasses too! No exceptions."

Punk smirked as he rubbed his hand on his knee pad and held it out to Zack, who readily shook it, thusly making the bet official. "Get ready to be the bag boy for the best in the world, _bro_. From US Champ to man slave of CM Punk...I gotta admit, it has a nice ring to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a bet to win and a crazy chick to get back", he said smugly, standing up and exiting the locker room, turning right down the hall and walking straight for AJ's office.

But upon opening the door and poking his head in, he saw her. Her back was turned to the door, and he slipped in silently, waiting for the right moment to open his mouth...yet it never came. He had the perfect opportunity to say something, and he was now finding himself to be speechless. He couldn't believe it. The voice of the voiceless...had no voice. He stood there, silently stewing and cursing his own existence, instead of talking to the brunette spitfire mere feet in front of him. Turning right back around, he quietly exited her office and waited until he was down the hall and out of her earshot to throw his fist into the wall as hard and as violently as he could, his mind then wandering to one thought.

He absolutely hated purple.

**xXx**

_Difficult and emotional Raw last week. Only solidified what I already knew. All I've got is me. And that's all I need._

She sent the tweet out and watched as it quickly garnered comments and re-tweets. Sighing, she teased her hair and cascaded it across her shoulder. She was dressed in her Harley Quinn colors tonight, red and black. It had now officially been a week without any type of contact with Phil, house show interactions notwithstanding. Her longing to talk to him and air her apologies grew with each passing day, but right now, she felt like she was on the verge of giving up. She looked at the tweet she sent out and a sad smile graced her lips at the double meaning it held. She had made an attempt to try and talk to him...but she backed out at the last second. She wanted to kick herself in the face for it.

Pinning her breast cancer pin to her vest, she started to prep herself for Raw tonight. Looking at herself in the mirror, she bit down on her lip and nodded her head. If they weren't going to talk, then so be it. She had a show to put on. Her feelings could be shelved again if need be.

"All I've got is me. All I've got is me", she repeated to herself softly, over and over again.

"And me."

Whipping around at the speed of light, AJ's eyes lit up like Christmas lights at the sight of Phil standing in the doorway to her office. Brushing her hair out of the way, she ran the short distance and leapt into his arms, getting caught and spun around while she giggled madly and took in his scent and his touch. Being put back down on her feet, she didn't relinquish the hug she had on him, only to be gently pried off. A tear threatened to slide down her cheek, but the smile and joy was gone in place of puzzlement at the sight of the purple shirt Phil was wearing and the sunglasses that were resting on his forehead. He caught on and looked down at his fluorescent garb and shook his head in mild disgust.

"Zack's shirt and glasses?"

"Yeah...I lost a bet. But never mind that. There's, there's something I wanted to show you, AJ. The talking, it can wait. But I want to do this."

"Do...do what?"

"Something I should have done a while ago."

With that, he swooped in and attacked her lips with his own. To say that the two of them felt a spark was an understatement. It felt more like fireworks. They kept at it, their lips moving together in a soft rhythm. AJ was shocked to say the least; he was so gentle and caring with his movements, not wanting to force anything on her. It felt amazing! Neither one of them wanted it to end, but eventually, they pulled apart, needing air for themselves. They rested their foreheads together, panting, both of them with goofy looking grins on their lips. Their first official kiss. It felt **great.**

"I'm sorry for overreacting the way I did, Phil. You didn't deserve that."

The grin faded into a smile as he wrapped his tattooed arms around her slender waist, pulling her into his body, his warmth enveloping her. "Don't worry about it, April, it's ancient history. But remember, from here on out...you don't have just yourself. You've got me too. You've...always had me."

She buried her face into his chest, smiling brightly into the fabric of the shirt. There they were, two peas in a pod, acting as if they hadn't missed a beat. It was perfect.

"You've always had me too. Always."

* * *

**And that's that for chapter fourteen! Their first kiss! Hope you all enjoyed. See ya next time! =)**


	15. reality vs unreality

**Chapter fifteen! I can't believe I've come this far since I started this story on a whim back in July. Thank you all, again, so much for your support and kind words. It means so much to me. And now...as for Raw...we get Ryback vs Punk at Hell In A Cell. I'm more than surprised, I thought Cena would be good to go, but guess not. I'm not thrilled about the match, but I'll survive. Plus, no AJ/Punk scenes this week was hella lame. Hopefully they fix that next week. Anyways, here we go!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

He woke up to the sun and it's annoying rays looking him straight in the eye as he stirred in his bed and finally flipped over onto his side, his legs sweeping to the ledge of the bed. He looked around his still messy room and lazily shrugged his shoulders, stepping out of the bed and padding over to the side of his room where he thought he kept his pile of clean clothes. Reaching down, he grabbed a shirt and threw it on, making his way down the steps, his kitchen being the destination he had in mind. But before he entered, he walked past his living room, stopping short to check on the visitor that was crashing on his couch.

A grin crept across his lips as he watched AJ sleep peacefully on the rather spacious piece of furniture. The bus had dropped them off at his home here in Chicago after a long, long night of tapings and even more tapings. His body felt like it had been thrown for a loop or three, and he was exhausted beyond belief, but he got his three hours of sleep so he'd make due. AJ, on the other hand, had nearly conked out when they were riding back to his home numerous times, only to snap up and insist that she'd be fine. Two seconds after entering his home, though, she had drifted over into the living room and that's how he left her, still wearing her clothes from the previous night, still with her makeup on. Punk suppressed a chuckle as he then entered the kitchen and began digging through his fridge looking for stuff to have for breakfast.

Sighing his discontent, he grabbed the few fruits he had left in there and placed them on the counter, before looking around in his cabinets for coffee. Grabbing his juicer and throwing everything minus the coffee into it, he smirked at the fact that he had come a long way since his OVW days, where he entered the developmental system at the heaviest he had ever weighed, two hundred and forty pounds. He felt like a total fat ass those first few months down in Louisville, but now, he felt like he was in the best damn shape of his life due to the cutting out of meat and a few other small things in his life and diet. The machine now done, he poured the contents of his pure fruit smoothie into a glass, he then went about making coffee for the little sleeping spitfire taking up residence on his couch.

Waiting for it to brew, he grabbed the local paper, dated from when he was home last, which was for a few days last week, and he couldn't help but smile upon seeing the rather big front page article that was dedicated to AJ. It talked about how, in a land dominated by men that were known for their larger than life personalities, she had risen to the top alongside them for, mostly, being herself, not to mention incredibly dedicated to becoming better each and every day. Punk remembered his words he said about her back at Comic Con in July, about how she had taken such a small opportunity and hit a grand slam with it. It made him feel a little bit better about the future of the business, knowing that if a tiny, geeky, nerdy girl from New Jersey like her could be so focussed and dedicated to her career, then she could rub off on everyone else, perhaps. Hell, she already had, and he knew this just from looking at Kane and Jericho. The big guy was in the twilight of his career yet he was looking as great as he had in years, and the frontman of Fozzy was simply phenomenal before he took time off to go on tour with his band.

Grabbing a mug and pouring the freshly made coffee into it, he grabbed his smoothie and walked back into the living room, placing the mug on the table next to the couch that she was still sleeping on, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, causing her to smile in her sleep. "I'll be upstairs if or when you decide to wake up", he whispered into her ear, turning on his heel to make his way up the steps and back into his messy room. Flopping down on his bed, he turned the TV on and began to aimlessly flick through the numerous channels he had, each of them as boring as the last one. Finally settling on ESPN, Punk settled into a comfortable position, hands behind his head as he kicked back and relaxed.

His peacefulness was soon (and quickly) interrupted by a brown haired blur that landed in his lap, placing a few kisses here and there on his cheeks and lips. Laughing as her lips tickled his skin, he pulled her down on top of him and kissed her, letting the moment linger for a moment before pulling back and resting his head on the pillow again. Looking up at her, he couldn't help but marvel at her beauty, even if she had a hardcore case of bed hair and her makeup was a little messy and she still looked tired like all hell...all it took was her smile and she could have him jumping off of a bridge for her.

"You know, most people simply say thank you when someone makes them coffee, they don't usually attack that person in their bed", he said, smirking as AJ removed herself from his lap, grabbing said mug of the refreshing beverage, nestling herself into the side of his body as his arm fell across her body, pulling her into him.

"You should know by now, Philly, that I'm not like most people", she said, taking a sip. "But that's what makes me so charming and appealing to the masses", she then added, winking as the television showed some baseball highlights. "Well, charming and appealing to you, at least."

"You're forgetting the countless amounts of fanboys and fangirls who propose to you and dress up like you on a constant basis, crazy train", he commented as his hand began to stroke her wild brunette locks, feeling her body relax even more against his as they watched the Jerry Springer show now pop up on the TV. "And what did I tell you about calling me that?", he asked, suddenly remembering that he hated being called that.

AJ smiled, bringing the mug to her lips to take a swig before shifting her head slightly so that she could see him in her peripherals. He had a scowl written across his face, tongue sticking slightly out as he looked down at her. "Oh come on, Philly, you know you like it when I call you that", she teased, sticking her own tongue out at him before turning her attention back to the television, where two women were arguing over some hideous looking man in the middle of it all. All she could do was shake her head at the absurdity of it all.

"I don't actually, but I'll continue to overlook it because I know you won't stop calling me that", he said, hand still messing around with her hair. "This is nice...just the two of us. Too bad you gotta go to New York and I'm back on the road for the house show tomorrow night."

Sighing, she shook her head and remembered that she had to be on a flight first thing tomorrow morning to do promotional work for WWE '13, their new video game that was coming out at the end of the month. She was super excited to be involved with it, having been announced as a downloadable character, her first ever video game appearance. She had cried, she had jumped for joy, she had gone through a whole range of emotions regarding the entire thing. It was just another cherry on top of the sundae that had been her year so far. The only thing that sucked about the entire was that Paul was going to be there doing promotional work for the game as well. _That_ wasn't going to be a fun time, not so much.

"You gonna be alright by yourself with Paul there?", he asked, almost as if he was poking around in her mind. "Because if you want me there, I'll talk to Vince and see if he can go without me at the show..."

"No", she stated firmly, sitting up and looking her...whatever Punk was (boyfriend?) in the eye, while he eyed her cautiously to see if she was being serious in her assertion. Putting her hand on his chest and feeling it rise sent a chill down her spine, and it sent one down his as well at her mere touch. "I can do this by myself. I'm a big girl, Philly. And I know that he's your friend and confidant and all, but I won't hesitate to do or say something if he tries anything."

A worried look spread across Punk's face, running a hand over his shaved scalp as he bit down on his lip ring. He had never left Paul and AJ alone for obvious reasons. Every time AJ was around, Paul made a point to try and stick his nose where it didn't belong, mainly in their business. Now that they were...doing whatever they were doing (dating?), he had become more protective of her and made sure that she was taken care of properly. It was just how he was when it came to the women in his life. And even if Paul was a near and dear friend of his...he wouldn't hesitate to make a point at his expense if he tried anything funny with AJ.

"I know...it's not you that I don't trust, because I do trust you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's him that I don't trust. You know how he can be, AJ. I just don't want him saying or doing anything that'll make you snap and get you punished", he said calmly, though concern was laced throughout his voice as he spoke. Sitting up so that he was resting against the headboard, she followed suit and placed her head in his lap, looking up at the ceiling, sighing as he continued to play with her hair. "You see where I'm coming from, right?"

"Yeah, I do", she whispered softly. Wrinkling her nose, she shifted around a little, trying to imagine what tomorrow would be like without Punk there by her side. Ever since their first real kiss on Monday, they had been literally attached at the hip, even more so than after their first date after Raw 1000. They almost were almost never apart, except for the various promotional work or times they went back to their respective homes. She had even begun riding with him and Kofi on the bus regularly, a change that Kofi obviously welcomed, seeing as Punk wasn't exactly the most cheery person in the world to travel with. A grin then crept across her lips; he was cheery _now,_ now that she was around. He'd never admit it, but she was ok with that. He didn't need to admit anything; he showed it more than enough.

An awkward silence had since fallen over them, as she stared at the ceiling fan. Her thoughts now consisted not of what was going to happen tomorrow in the Big Apple, but on the man currently messing around with her wild looking hair. She didn't need to look at him to know that he was smiling as he did so. She was still amazed that she had been able to win over the man whom everyone on the roster joked would be most likely to not get married and live alone for the rest of his life. He had stated numerous times, to her and to others, that he was all about his career, and that relationships could wait...but yet here they were, laying in his bed, watching Jerry Springer together, acting as if everything here was the norm. It made her think about what things were going to be like further down the road between them...it also gave her a bad case of word vomit.

"Where do you see things going between us?"

Needless to say, the question caught him quite off guard. He stopped running his fingers through her hair, bringing them to his chin in a thinking pose. He didn't know how to answer it, truthfully. It had all been such a whirlwind of emotions and things that weren't supposed to happen...ever since they had begun working together in late May, just before Over The Limit, to right now...it had all caught him off guard. He tried resisting the pull that she had over him, but he hadn't, nor couldn't. Even when she was slipping him her tongue when she wasn't supposed to, going off script and pushing him through a table, slapping the shit out of him, to proposing to him, all of it...he felt the urge to go along with it despite his inner protests, because for some reason, all of it felt normal to him. This, sitting in his bed with her head in his lap, felt normal. Staying up till five in the morning reading comics and sharing jokes, felt normal. It honestly scared him a little bit at how attached the two of them had become to one another, how protective he was of her now. So he countered with the one thing he could rationally think of saying to her right now.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean...everything has happened so quickly and suddenly...and I know your stance on relationships and dating and all of that junk...I don't want to feel like I'm weighing you or your career down or anything...I don't even know why I asked that stupid question...I'm sorry, Philly...I just...I don't even know..."

AJ looked like she was on the verge of tears as she stood up and rested on her knees, playing around with her fingers nervously. Leaning forward, Punk wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and pulled her into his chest, feeling her bury her head there, the tears soaking his shirt. _'Just like the segment that started this all',_ he mused silently to himself, a reminiscent smile on his lips. Stroking her hair and rubbing the small of her back, he spoke. "Listen here, little lady. I care about you. You're an incredible person, a sweetheart, a lot of fun to be around, and someone I can relate to. I don't know what the future holds for us as far as our relationship goes, but what I do know is that we're in this together. You and me. Nobody else."

She removed her head from his chest and looked up at him with the same wide eyed, puppy dog look she had that fateful night in May. Except this time, he didn't feign being confused, no, this time, he grinned from ear to ear. Her brown doe eyes gazed longingly and lovingly into his green orbs, and without a word, she grabbed him by his face and crushed her lips onto his. Breaking off before it became too serious, she let out a little laugh, tucking away strands of her hair behind her ear before throwing her arms around Punk's neck.

"Just you and me. Batman and Harley Quinn. Like it's supposed to be."

He grinned at her comic book reference. He returned the hug back. "That's all we need."

**xXx**

AJ groaned as she finished doing an interview to hype the game, watching as her favorite person in the entire world, Paul Heyman, strode over to where she was standing. He had a smug look on his face and seemed to be walking without a hitch in his step, as opposed to when they would see each other backstage, when Punk was around to mediate the going ons. Adjusting her glasses, she did her best to force a smile for the slimy, smarmy looking man as he walked up to her, his hand extended for whatever reason.

"Congratulations, Miss Mendez."

"Congrats on what?"

"Congratulations on turning my client into a lovesick little boy. I have to admit, I can't believe a child like yourself did it, but you did, and now he's too worried about what or how you're doing than the show he's supposed to be main eventing tonight."

Hidden behind her steely glare was the fact that her stomach was doing somersaults and she was fangirling like hell on the inside. _'He really does care about me',_ she thought to herself, allowing a small smile to creep across her lips. "Does that not sit well with the _voice of the voice of the voiceless?_", she asked him sardonically. "Is he upset that his client, you know, actually _cares_ about something _more_ than his career?", she continued, adding a gasp at the end of it. "I think he does! What a concept."

All Paul could do was give her a disgusted looking smile, clearly not impressed with the General Manager of Raw's words. Part of him wanted to give her uninformed self a piece of his mind, but he knew better than that. Punk was a crabby person in general, and doing something like going after his little girlfriend would only piss him off to no end, and he knew first hand what a pissed off Punk was capable of. No, he was going to do something he was good at, something he knew that wouldn't result in Punk threatening to murder him.

He was going to stir the pot.

"And what, now because he's shown you this softer side of him, you think he's no longer the man that I know him to be? That he's no longer solely focussed on his career and the title because you entered the equation and mucked things up? That he's still not a ruthless bastard? Because if you think that, Miss Mendez, you've got another thing coming to you."

"That's supposed to mean what to me?", she questioned, almost tauntingly, doing her best to not give into his goading and whatnot. "Punk's a human. Humans care about many things, and other humans are one of them if they're close enough. This isn't about him, is it? This is about whatever issues you have with me being a big part of his life, am I right?

Shaking his head, Paul's look soured for a moment before he regained his composure. "My feelings for you don't matter at this moment, though I'm sure you're _dying_ to know what I really, truly think of you. What you should care about though, is that Punk isn't who you think he is. And sooner or later, you'll find that harsh little fact out for yourself...whether you like it or not. Good day, Miss Mendez."

With that, Paul turned on his heel and walked away, sticking his nose in the air, as if he had gotten a moral victory over the petite spitfire. Shaking her head with mild irritation, she too turned around, and began to walk towards a game testing area, where she was to get to play as her video game self for the first time ever. But instead of being totally hyped up about that, she couldn't help but let Paul's words worm their way into her head for the rest of the day...

**xXx**

Watching the last segment of the show, AJ had changed out of her work clothes for the evening and threw the H2O hoodie that Punk had given her over the Pokemon shirt she was wearing, also making sure to straighten out her skinny jeans and her Converse. The two of them were to go out for dinner after the show, seeing as it was only 8 PM and they were in Sacramento. She had managed to catch some of the brawl between him and Vince, and she was surprised at the brutality that she was witnessing. For a man his age, Vince sure knew how to dish out the punishment as well as take his fair share of it, his bloody eye a testament to that. And she couldn't help but smile when he laid out Paul at ringside. Him and Punk were playing their parts to perfection right now...yet she couldn't help but shake the sense that something bad was about to happen.

As Punk made his way over the barrier and up the stairs, deeper into the crowd, she wasn't watching him, but instead was watching the fans behind him. They were doing their best to get in front of the camera...and some of them were hitting Punk. Some of them slapping him, shoving him, screaming in his ear. He was doing his best to keep his composure and not break character as he watched Vince in the ring from his position. And _that's_ when she saw it. The one obnoxious brat slapping him hard on the back, then punching him in the kidney, quickly retreating like a bandit into the night. The man directly behind him, brushing his elbow across the back of Punk's head, putting his sunglasses back on. It all happened in slow motion.

Punk looked like he was ready to kill someone. He turned around...and smacked the fan square in the face, knocking his glasses away and knocking him silly. He then pie faced the fan and shoved him down on his ass. She watched in horror as it all unfolded, the camera showing Vince's look of shock and awe as well.

All while Paul's words swam around in her head. And did they ever **swim.**

* * *

**I figured it'd be good to leave it there, with the whole fan incident. Hope you all enjoyed! And be on the lookout for a new project on the horizon! You're all gonna love it. Lates! =]**


	16. willing to wait

**Hola everyone! I can't believe I've gotten this far here, with 100 reviews. It means a lot, and I can't thank you all enough. So here's chapter sixteen, right before our hero steps into Hell In A Cell and walks out the WWE Champion. And as for our favorite crazy chick...I gave myself a few days to think about it, and it's for the best that she's no longer GM. She's going to shine and, pun intended, light it up more. Here's hoping they put them together! And now, enjoy!**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

AJ sat nervously in the waiting room of the police station, fidgeting around in her seat, playing with her thumbs as she anxiously waited for Punk to exit the interrogation room. Checking her phone, she hadn't realized that she had been there for over two hours at that rate. The show and the incident felt like it happened ages ago, and she was fearful that something really bad was going to come of this situation. She had caught a glimpse of Vince backstage immediately after he came behind the curtain, and needless to say, he was none too pleased with what happened. And literally seconds after he had returned backstage, Punk was whisked away by the local authorities and taken here, now, this moment.

She kept replaying the entire incident over and over in her head, she found herself focussing on that one little bastard who was antagonizing her boyfriend, slapping and elbowing him. She was so mad that security wasn't in the right place at the right time, they could have prevented the entire thing from escalating to what it had become. And while she certainly felt bad for the fan that had been wrongfully slugged in the face by Punk, she was more fearful about what the hell was going to happen to him. She had tried speaking to Vince about it, but he remained tight lipped on the situation when she broached the subject.

After a few more minutes of waiting, she looked up to see Punk finally exiting the room, still dressed in his ring gear and covered in sweat, the WWE Title dragging behind him, looking as pissed off as she could ever remember him looking. Grabbing his bags, she rushed over to him and embraced him in a hug, one he reciprocated quickly. "Is everything okay?", she asked somewhat timidly, her head resting on his chest, not caring if it was still sweaty. He merely nodded his head and motioned towards the exit, grabbing his stuff and walking, AJ following closely behind. Once they reached the outside, he threw on his blue hoodie and kept walking until they saw Paul leaning on the hood of his rental car, waiting for his client. He gave Punk a handshake while shooting AJ a dirty look, one she returned as they stopped in front of the car.

"Is everything alright, Phil? Did they touch you, did they try anything funny while you were in there? Because if they did, I can have their asses su-"

"Paul, it's over and done with, I don't want to talk about it right now, alright? I just want to get back on the bus and get back on the road if that's alright with you. You mind taking us back to the arena?", he asked. Paul looked from him to AJ, then to his cramped car. "Well, Paul, can you or not?"

"I don't know if you can see or not, Phil, but my car is somewhat cluttered and crowded, and I only really have room for one other person, so-"

"I can sit on Philly's lap, I'm tiny enough, no biggie", AJ chirped, a sickeningly sweet smile being sent in Paul's direction, before tugging on Punk's arm. They smiled at each other before he slid into the passenger seat, her curling up into a ball on his lap, neither of them noticing the peeved look on Paul's face, mocking them as he got into the car and forcefully slammed the door shut. Muttering some choice words under his breath, he started the car and pulled out of the police station, navigating his way down the still sunny streets of Sacramento back to the arena. He glanced over at the couple briefly and rolled his eyes; she was whispering something about how everything was going to be alright, while Punk nodded his head, kissing her on the cheek, trying to become cheered up. The sight of it all made Paul sick to his stomach that his client and close friend could become so wrapped up in such a childish, **ignorant** little girl like her. He _hated_ it. Punk was supposed to be focussed on his career, on his iconic and historic title reign, on his legacy...but this little girl was ruining everything. And he didn't like it when things he had his hands on got ruined.

Pulling into the parking lot of the arena and coming to a stop next to the bus, he unlocked the doors and AJ hopped out, but before Punk could leave, Paul placed a hand on his client's wrist. "Phil, can I ask you something?"

Punk rolled his eyes. "I told you, I didn't want to talk about what happened."

"It's not about that. It's about AJ."

In an instant, Punk's demeanor went from that of irritated to guarded and dark. "What about her, Paul? If you're just gonna badmouth her again then I swear to-"

"It's nothing like that, Phil, get real", Paul said, a slight bitterness in his voice. "I just want to know, though...is she worth it? Does she really make you _that_ happy?"

Shaking his head, Punk muttered something incoherent under his breath, then turned his head to face Paul, glaring with venom in his eyes. Now wasn't the time to start with him when it came to his feelings for his girlfriend. "Listen, Paul. I get that you don't like her, for whatever reason it is that you have. I get that. But if you're going to sit here and try to question how I truly feel for that girl, then don't even go there. You really want to start with me after what happened tonight, Paul?"

"I was just curious, that's all. I'm your friend, I just want to see where your head is at."

"Paul, if you were _really_ my friend, you'd be supportive of the fact that I've found someone that's as insane and dedicated to this business as I am. That's all I'm going to say about it. I'll see you in the next town."

Punk quickly exited the car, shutting the door and entering the bus. Paul shook his head and grimaced. He didn't want to have to do this. He didn't want it to have to come down to this at all, but his hand was forced. So he did what he did best.

He picked up his phone and made some calls.

**xXx**

"Philly, come on. Talk to me. Please?"

The two of them had just finished eating dinner and were now back on the road to the next city for the next string of house shows. They were sitting on his bed, his back to her as she rested on her knees, massaging his sore shoulder, trying to make him less tense. He shook his head as she continued on.

"There's nothing really to talk about, crazy train. I feel terrible about what happened. I just really wish it had never come to that."

"Philly...you were acting in self defense. I mean...yeah, the wrong guy got nailed but still...you had your back turned and...yeah."

He let out a deep breath, his shoulders rising and slumping with the exhale. He turned his head so that she could see the side of his face, and he looked like he was sick, or he hadn't slept in days. _"Oh Philly...",_ she said softly, resting the side of her head on his back. "I'm sure the guy will understand that it was all a giant mistake. Everything's going to be okay..."

"I saw him at the station, the dude I hit. I could see the outline of my wrist tape on his face. Guess I don't know my own strength, huh?", he asked rhetorically, stifling a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. AJ's lips curled upward into a grin as she got off the bed and walked around to face Punk, kneeling down in front of him. She cupped his whiskered face in her hands and leaned in, placing a chaste, loving kiss on his lips, letting it linger for a few seconds before resting her forehead on his, their noses touching in an eskimo kiss. They stayed like that for a good minute or two, in silence.

"We'll get through this, Philly. I'm sure Vince won't make a big deal of it once he gets the full details", she said reassuringly, feeling his arms snake around her body and pull her in closer to his own. If it weren't for the circumstances, she'd have been ready to jump his bones right now. She was absolutely **loving** how he was holding her right now.

"I just want the whole thing to blow over and become ancient history", he whispered, feeling a buzzing in his pocket. Fishing his phone out, he rolled his eyes in disgust and tossed his phone behind him, hearing it bounce off of the bed and onto the floor. "And I want Paul to stop bugging the shit out of me right now about it", he groaned. Friend or not, Paul was starting to become quite irritating at the moment.

"Forget about him, Philly. You can worry about him when we get to the next town. Now", she said, standing up and exiting the bedroom, walking to the front of the bus, where she dug through her bag, looking for something. Once she retrieved what she was looking for, she walked back to him, beaming as she held the DVD's in her hand. "It's October, it's yours and my favorite month of the year, and Halloween is right around the corner. Wanna watch some movies?", she asked, holding them up, grinning from ear to ear, while Punk's mood changed considerably.

"Night, Dawn and Day Of The Dead? I knew keeping you around would eventually turn out to be a good idea", he said, smirking as he ruffled her hair, while she shoved the movies into his chest and ran off, laughing as he gave chase. Popping the first movie of the three into the DVD case, Punk turned around to see AJ nowhere around. "You trying to scare me, crazy train? Because you should know...you can _never_ scare Batman."

"Be right out! I'm changing into my horror movie watching shirt!", she yelled out from the bathroom, and from the sound of it, it felt like she was tearing the damn room apart all by herself. A few moments later, she returned wearing said shirt. "What do you think?", she asked, striking a hilariously seductive pose, which wasn't like her at all but she didn't care. Judging by the dumbfounded look on Punk's face, his eyes wide and jaw agape, he seemed to really like it.

Shaking his head so he wouldn't look like a blithering, drooling idiot, he still struggled to find words to adequately describe just how...hot she looked. It was an oversized t-shirt, one that looked like she had owned it for years, judging from the small holes he noticed. But it was a black shirt that was checkered and dotted with white skulls that ended just above her knees. Realizing that she was probably wearing nothing underneath, his mind wandered south for a moment, and he found himself shifting around in his seat as he tried to get the dirty images out of his head, grabbing one of the pillows and conveniently placing it over his lap so that nothing would look noticeable. She wasn't making it easy on him, that was for sure.

"Uh...yeah. You look great", he said breathlessly, his head turned towards the television. "I can't believe you have a specific shirt for watching horror movies in though", he commented, trying his best to not stare, to not even look in her direction that often, lest his animalistic urges get the best of him. He didn't know if she was wearing the shirt to get a rise out of him or not. Maybe she just wanted to wear the shirt and feel comfortable. He didn't know for sure...all he wanted to do was watch some of his favorite George A. Romero flicks. Anything else, he figured, would be a bonus to what was shaping up to be a nice end to a terrible day.

"I knew you'd like it", she sang as she sat down next to him, latching onto his arm, lifting it and then draping it across her shoulder while she nuzzled her head into the side of his body, grabbing the remote and hitting play, the television coming to life.

For a while, the two of them sat in silence as they watched, Punk with a huge grin on his face as victim after victim met their end, while AJ, when not looking the other way, was slowly doing the little things to get a rise out of him. Be it rub her hand on his thigh and down his leg, whisper into his ear, run her hand across his chest, anything she could think of. The first few times, it didn't work though, because he was so wrapped up in the movie. Eventually, though, he began to catch onto her little games, pausing the movie, an exasperated look on his face.

"AJ...", he breathed out, his senses going into near overdrive while she sat there, having removed herself from his arm, a grin playing on her lips. "What are you doing?", he questioned, not sure if he'd be able to remain even keeled anymore. "You're playing with fire, girl...you know what happens when you do that."

"You get burned...or you have one hell of a fun time playing with it."

"You're going to-"

He couldn't finish the sentence, as the next thing he knew, his vision was clouded by a sea of wild brunette locks and her lips crushing against his in a fiery, fierce tangle for control. At first, he thought about pushing her away, but he quickly thought better of it because, _shit,_ why the hell would he want to stop her when she was kissing him to death like this? And plus, he'd be lying through his teeth if he didn't say he had some urges that he wanted to act upon when it came to his girlfriend. Sure, he wanted to be a gentleman and not force anything upon her, keep everything under wraps, but if she was willing to play tit for tat like this, then he'd happily oblige.

He blindly reached for the remote, grabbing it in his free hand that wasn't used to currently support AJ's weight against his body, and he pushed down on what felt like the pause button, because, being the horror fanatic/geek he was, he wanted to make damn sure he picked up right where he left off in the movie. After doing so, he lifted her up off of the couch, her legs now wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the back, the two of them still in a passionate duel with their tongues now entering the fray. Pushing the curtain to the side, they made their way into the bedroom, where he laid her on the bed, hovering over her, their eyes locking onto each other. She smiled up at him as she began to tug on his shirt, eventually getting it over his head and discarding it to the side. He smiled down at her, prepared to fulfill her needs but then...it hit him harder than any clothesline from that freak of nature Ryback ever could. Reluctantly, he fell onto the bed and onto his side, a confused look on her face as she turned to face him.

"Is something wrong, Philly? Did I come on too strong? I came on too strong, didn't I? Oh god, you think I'm some sex driven crazy cat...I'm so sorry Philly, I didn't mean to...oh man..."

Punk shushed her by putting his finger over her lips, a tiny smirk on his lips. Shaking his head to put her at ease, he sighed. He might as well be completely honest with her if he wanted this new relationship to work. "It's not you, crazy train. It's **definitely** not you...you're great. You look great. You're just...you put up with my shit, you deal with my pissy moods...you were there for me tonight at the station...it's just...I'm not ready to go there yet, April. And I know that sounds unlike me but-"

She attacked his lips again for a brief moment, pulling away with a big smile on her lips. He wanted to wait. If that wasn't romantic, then she didn't know what was. _'He's so sweet',_ AJ thought to herself. "It's alright, Phillip", she said, using his full name, letting him know she was serious. "If you want to wait, then I can too. And trust me, I don't think any less of you at all because you want to do that. In fact, it makes you even hotter in my books, if that's even possible."

He let out a laugh, reaching to pull her into his body, her back resting against his chest while he buried his face into the nape of her neck. "Days and moments like these...make me glad that I've got you", he said, his arms wrapped around her slender waist as he felt himself beginning to doze off to sleep. "I could stay like this all night..."

"You're such a cuddle whore!", she exclaimed, giggling as she felt herself get pulled into his body a little bit more. She too, felt like she was about to head to sleep. "I'm glad I've got you too, Phillip. Just you and me."

"That's all we need", he said sleepily before everything faded to black.

**xXx**

Sitting outside the police station while waiting for his ride, the man looked at the broken glasses in his head and lamented the fact that he had just gotten them a week ago, and now they were destroyed. Setting them aside, he rubbed the cheek which had been struck, still feeling the sting of the tape across his face from when he got, in a better word, clobbered. He had thought about filing a report with the police against that bastard CM Punk, and he still was, but it wasn't something you rushed into.

"Excuse me? Sir?"

Looking up, he saw a short, heavy set man wearing a black ball cap and black trench coat stride up to him. Confused and not recognizing him at first, he frowned. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Oh no, you can't. But I, on the other hand, can help you."

He handed him a business card. "I saw the video of what happened to you tonight, and I have to say, I'm disgusted with what occured. If you're thinking about filing a report, and pressing charges, then that's my number at the bottom of the card. I can help you seek the retribution you deserve against the criminal who assaulted you, CM Punk. Thank you for your time, I must be going."

Looking down at the card, he raised an eyebrow at it, then looked as the squirrly looking man walked off. "Wait! Sir, wait! Just...just how can I trust you? How can you get what I want from this if I go that route?"

The man in the trench coat turned around, an almost evil look on his face as he grinned. "I'm Paul Heyman. I always get what I want."

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Hope you all enjoyed! And check out the Punklee story that myself and Red Foxy are co-writing, My life was simple and then I met you. It's a totally different look on our favorite couple. And check out her own story, Take Me With You, as well! It's an awesome read. Enjoy your weekends! =)**


	17. end of the road

**Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry for not being around at all lately, the storm really kicked everyone's ass out here in Jersey, and I just got my power back early this morning. I'm very thankful to have it back and I hope that everyone else who was affected by the storm comes out better than ever. Now, as for the chapter, if Punk sounds a bit out of character from what we see and know, then my apologies...I just went with what I thought sounded best, given the situations of this chapter. And if anyone's picked up WWE '13 yet, tell me how it is! I can't wait to get my copy. And with all that said...enjoy!**

**PS - This whole 'affair' crap that they've got AJ doing with Cena and Vickie is just so...UGHHHHHHHHH. I know I'm not alone in that sentiment, either.**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

"Thank you both for coming on such short notice. Vince and Stephanie will be with you two shortly."

A deep sigh escaping his lips, Punk's eyes wandered to that of a nervous and fidgety AJ sitting beside him, doing her best to keep her composure and not break down. For him, getting a call to meet the emperor and daddy's little girl in Stamford was almost second nature; he had lost count of how many times he had walked these halls, getting yelled at and reprimanded for whatever he may have said or done on television or backstage over the years. But for someone like AJ, this was brand new to her, and she was rightfully nervous about the entire thing. From the moment he had gotten the call from Vince himself to now, AJ had been nothing but a mess of emotions, ranging from hopeful to downright scared and fearful that something bad might happen to her. He had tried his best to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work, so he stood by and let her try to work through it on her own. It wasn't working.

"Hey. C'mere", he spoke silently, nudging her with his shoulder, using his finger to motion her over into his waiting embrace. Her sad, pleading eyes met with his and she soon fell into his chest, letting his arms wrap around her protectively. "I know I sound like a broken record here, girl, but everything's going to be okay. I'm gonna be right here with you."

AJ said nothing, instead nodding her head, doing her absolute best to not break down in front of him. She wanted to appear strong, not weak minded and childish. She also couldn't help but admire how even keeled and almost nonchalant Phil seemed right now. She wished she could have an ounce of his care free attitude coursing through her veins right now; it'd make whatever was to happen a hell of a lot easier.

"Phil! April! Come on in."

She looked up to see Vince, all smiles, with Stephanie not too far behind him, welcoming them into the huge board room. Phil sighed and rolled his eyes, slapping his knees and standing up, offering his hand to her, which she gratefully took. Walking into the spacious room hand in hand, a sign of unity in the face of this storm, she felt a little bit better about the prospects of what this whole shebang could entail.

"Thank you both for being able to make it."

Punk merely nodded his head in Vince's direction before sending a brief wave to Stephanie, sitting down, placing the WWE Championship on the table for all to see. AJ did her best to force a smile out, shaking Vince's hand, then giving Stephanie an awkward hug, which was nothing new for her, seeing as she practically idolized the ground in which Stephanie walked on.

"So, we gonna get straight to business or is bullshitting on the menu today?", Phil asked sarcastically. His hands were clasped together, propped under his chin as he observed the McMahon clan. "And how come darling Hunter's not here? I never got the chance to compliment him on his idiotic new haircut."

AJ poked him in his ribs, getting him to shut up almost instantly. She saw Steph roll her eyes, while a stern look crossed Vince's face. Shaking his head, the chairman of the board let out a deep breath before jumping into the business for the day. "I'm sure you both know why I asked you here."

"Let me guess, Night Of Champions didn't garner the buy rate you wanted and I'm the fall guy, so you're taking the title off of me because I _'don't draw'_ ?", Punk said somewhat bitterly. Vince joined Stephanie in rolling his eyes, muttering something under his breath about how he _never_ had these kinds of problems with Cena as the champion.

"You **know** why you're here, Phil", Stephanie stated calmly, and AJ could feel her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. "It has to do with what happened in Sacramento, when you assaulted that fan."

"Did the fan press charges?", AJ said in a squeaky voice, the words coming out of her mouth faster than she had anticipated. Phil whirled his head around to look at her, her eyes also meeting the uneasy looks of Vince and Stephanie, and never more than in that instance did she want to crawl into a hole and stay there.

"Look, I apologized about the entire thing, alright? I know I decked the wrong dude, and I tried reaching out to him, but I got nothing. You two know as well as anybody that I'm a hothead, and while I'm certainly not using that as an excuse for my actions, whose idea was it to have me run into the stands with all those idiot fans, huh?", he said with fire in his eyes, looking directly at Stephanie, his accusations pointed at her. "Why don't you admit to that, daddy's little girl, huh?"

"Alright Punk, that's **enough!**", Vince yelled, interjecting himself into the one-sided argument before it got worse. Stephanie sat there, however, unmoved and unaffected by the champions words, her hands folded together and propped up on the desk. AJ must've poked Phil about five or six times in the ribs in a vain attempt to get him to shut up, lest he get too carried away with what he was saying. "Christ almighty, this is supposed to be a meeting, not a day at the shooting range! Calm yourself or I'll strip you of that damn title right here and right now!"

The mere mention of the title being taken away from him was all that it took for Punk to shut up. Shooting a dirty glare at Vince, his lips pursed tightly together, he leaned back in his reclining chair and looked up at the ceiling, silently stewing as he groused under his breath. Taking a moment to fix his tie, the chairman of the board exhaled a deep breath, steadying himself for the news he was about to hit the couple with.

"Fortunately for you and for us, Punk, we've been given no indication that the man who you struck will be filing charges, so we'll go ahead with business as usual. Unfortunately, however...something has to be done about it. It just can't be completely swept under the rug, as you must know."

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Punk sat there, waiting for the hammer to get dropped on him for what felt like the millionth time. But it never came. Lowering his gaze to look at the McMahon clan, he saw Stephanie's eyes fixated on AJ. _Wait a minute..._

"With your standing as the WWE Champion and the face of our company, we simply cannot afford to hand out any discipline to you, Punk, despite urges from many that we should. You're just too valuable to the company at this point in time. However, AJ...", Stephanie began, watching the brunette spitfire's head snap up to meet her gaze. It pained her a great deal to see the fearful, sad look on young AJ's face, it really did, but this was business.

"No...no, no, no..", she plead softly, the tears threatening to fall from her eyes any moment now. Punk looked from his girlfriend to Stephanie, then to Vince, a wild look in his heavily bagged eyes. He felt his hand ball up into a tightly wound fist, ready to go through a wall.

"We have decided that we are removing you from your post as General Manager of Raw. We will make the announcement this coming Monday night...when we're in the Meadowlands."

Instantly, AJ buried her face in her hands, unable to deal with what she had a feeling was coming. She bit down on her lip hard, trying to get the tears to stop, but they flowed freely. It was bad enough that this was happening to her, but to happen in the arena she lived fifteen minutes away from? It was almost unbearable news to digest. Eyes tightly shut, she didn't see Punk stand up and make his way to the McMahon's, looking to unleash bloody murder on the both of them.

"What the **fuck** is _wrong_ with you!?", he bellowed, slamming his fists down on the table. "You brought us here to punish **her?!** **I'm** the one who beat the crap out of a fan, not her! What the** fuck** is she guilty of, doing her god damn job!? A fucking good one at that! If you're gonna punish _anyone,_ fucking punish **me!** Take the damn title off of me, I don't care! Job me out to that roid monkey Ryback if you fucking want!", he continued on, this time taking the WWE Title and throwing it across the table at Vince and Steph. "_I don't care_ what the fuck you do, just don't punish her and derail **her** career like you've done so many other careers, you** heartless bastards!"**

Instead of getting worked up and raising his voice, Vince opted instead to sit there and take it all in, Stephanie doing the same. Neither of them flinched as Punk continued to hurl obscenities, accusations and insults their way. They understood that what they were doing here wasn't going to be very popular at all, and they both silently commended Punk for being so loyal and protective of his girlfriend, but...

"I can't make everyone happy, Punk", Vince stated simply, albeit a little solemnly as well. He had grown to think very highly of little AJ, and he loved the fact that she cared about the business so much, and wasn't using it as a stepping stone to reach Hollywood or other means of fame, like most of the other girls he had hired had done over the years. "But it's not like April's going to be released or taken off of television for months at a time. It's all onward and upward for her, contrary to what you might think."

Despite the words of encouragement from her boss, AJ kept her head buried in her hands, silently sobbing while she rocked back and forth, realizing that all of her hard work had gone down the drain because some asshole couldn't keep his hands to himself and wouldn't stop provoking her boyfriend. "In fact, she's going to continue to be one of the stars of the show. We already have a basic outline of what we've got planned for her."

Slowly raising her head and sniffling, she pawed at her eyes to make the tears go away and wiped her runny nose with the sleeve of her hoodie. They were surely red and puffy, and she hated that she looked so weak in front of Vince and Steph, but she couldn't help it; she had grown attached to being the GM of Raw. She momentarily glanced over at Punk, and she saw that he wasn't taking the news well, maybe even _worse_ than her, if that was possible.

"I can only _imagine_ what you and your crack creative team have in store for my girlfriend...", Punk muttered, audibly enough for everyone to hear.

"She's going to be returning to active competition...Vickie's going to be taking over as the managing supervisor of Raw, and she'll accuse April of fraternizing and having an affair with a member of the roster."

"And who the hell is that gonna be?"

"John", Stephanie firmly stated, her voice unwavering.

As if everything Punk had heard wasn't bad enough to begin with...

"**CENA!?**", he exclaimed. "**HIM!?** You're putting **HIM** in an angle with _**MY GIRLFRIEND!?**_ Are you _trying_ to piss me off? Because you're fucking succeeding!"

"Punk", Steph said softly, trying to reason with a very incensed WWE Champion. "John's still recovering from his elbow surgery, he's not as far along as we thought he'd be. He can't feud with you until he's cleared, and-"

"I don't want to hear any more of it. I'm over this bullshit", Punk muttered harshly, grabbing his title and heading back over to AJ. "Come on, April, let's go home."

Slowly, she nodded her head and rose from her seat, making eye contact with Vince and Stephanie, both of them looking solemn as they collectively nodded their heads as well. But instead of immediately following after Phil, she raced over to Stephanie and threw her fragile little arms around her in a hug, one that Stephanie reciprocated as Vince watched. "It's alright, April. I know your heart was into it and I feel terrible for doing this, but I hope you understand. This isn't the end for you, it's only the beginning."

_"I know"_, AJ whispered. "Thank you so much for everything. I won't let you or Vince down."

Removing herself from Stephanie, she walked over to Vince and, instead of shaking his hand, embraced him as well. He was a little caught off guard by it, but he too returned it, opting to let the silence in the air do the talking.

From the doors, Punk watched it all unfold and felt a small _(key word there)_ twinge of regret for going off on Vince and Steph the way he did. He meant every word he said, no doubt, but he quickly realized he could have gone about it in a different way. Sucking in a deep breath, he walked back over to the threesome, the McMahon's expecting another verbal outburst, but instead, he extended his hand to the patriarch of the family.

"I don't care what you do with me. Just take care of her. I'm happy as long as she is."

Nodding his head, a semblance of a smile tugging at his lips, Vince shook his champion's hand, a silent acknowledgment that he would do all he could. Punk then stuck his hand out to Steph, which shocked her to no end, judging by her reaction. "The same goes to you. Just make her happy, alright?"

She took Punk's hand in her own, firmly shaking his hand, grinning from ear to ear. "You have my word, Punk."

Letting go of her hand, Punk opened his arms for AJ to walk into, which she did. Whispering sweet nothings into her ear, he turned, his back facing her, and let her leap onto him, giving her a piggyback ride out of the office to the refreshing sound of her giggles.

Watching the two of them exit, Stephanie sighed and turned to face her father, who had something of a smile on his lips as he watched his champion and his favorite Diva walk out of the room. "Penny for your thoughts, Dad?"

"I don't know what she sees in him", he snorted, chuckling to himself.

A sigh escaped her lips again, this time followed by a smirk. "You know, you said the same thing to me when I first started dating Hunter. I think we turned out just fine."

**xXx**

"Are you sure you're alright with all of this?"

She snapped her head up upon hearing John's questioning words. She smiled at him, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger, biting down on her lip as she looked for the right words. It was Monday, and the meeting had taken place last Wednesday, plenty of time for her emotions to level off and come to grips with the hand she had been dealt. _Right?_ **Right.**

"Of course I am, John! I don't think Punk is though..."

"Maybe that should have been my question then, huh?"

The two of them shared a laugh as the camera crews dispersed to different parts of the arena to film the other segments for tonight. Ever since the rest of Wednesday, where she cried her eyes out and leaned on Phil more than she ever had, she liked to think to herself that she had accepted her fate. Did she like that this was happening in her home state? No, but it wasn't like she could just teleport the show to a different state, like she was a Power Ranger or something like that. She really liked being the GM, the one with all the power, but on the bright side, at least she was going to be wrestling again. She had missed that immensely.

Noticing the somewhat downtrodden look on AJ's face, John put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up to look at him. "Buck up, kiddo. You'll be just fine."

"Yeah...Philly's been saying the same thing over and over", she said somewhat absent-mindedly, forgetting the fact that he told her in no uncertain terms that she was to not call him that in front of the guys; John's lips curled upward devilishly as he tucked that one away for future use. "I just wish none of this ever happened, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel you. How's he holding up?", John asked, referencing Punk.

"He..he thinks it's all his fault. He keeps apologizing to me randomly, but I don't hold him accountable. He just acted in self defense..and I had to take the fall for it. He's the champ...they can't lose him."

"You're doing a great job of keeping your head up, girl. A lot of other people would have gotten mad and pointed the finger of blame at him. I'm proud of you, AJ."

John then wrapped his large, muscular arms around AJ's shoulders, bring her in for a hug. No sooner than he had done that, though, a cough was heard and he let go of her, thinking it was Punk, only it wasn't. A scowl formed on both of their faces as they took in the figure of Paul Heyman, smug grin on his lips as he looked them up and down.

"Can I help you, Heyman?"

"I'd like a moment alone with Miss Mendez, if that's quite alright with you, Jonathan."

Taking his glare off of Heyman for a moment to look down at AJ, seeing if she needed him close by, she shook her head, smiling up at the leader of the Cenation. "I've got this one, John. I'll be fine, trust me. Go on, I'll talk to you later. And tell Punk if you see him that I'll be over to his locker room in a bit."

Bidding farewell to John, she turned on her heel to face the bane of her existence. Every part of her just wanted to slug him right in the face and not stop till he was crying for his mother, but she knew better than to do that at this exact moment. Then again, she _could_ just pass it off as an accident...

"How can I help you today, _Paul?_", she said bitingly, a fake smile plastered all over her features as she rocked back and forth, side to side on her feet.

"Oh, you already have. You see, when I heard that the powers that be finally came to their senses and relieved you of your General Manager duties, I almost didn't believe it till I saw you out there in the ring. Hell, I needed more confirmation, and here it is; you, standing here, looking for all the world like a child whose favorite toy just broke. It's such a wonderful thing to see", he said, the shit-eating grin he was known for on his lips as he shook his head.

"If you came here to shove it in my face, Paul, then it really shows how much of a man you really are. I mean, coming to mock and make fun of my bad luck? How mature of you. Then again, I guess I'd laugh at someone else's misfortune as well, if it helped me forget the fact that I drove an entire company into it's grave almost single-handedly. How many paychecks did you bounce those last few months ECW was on it's death bed, huh Paul? Twenty? Thirty? More?"

She took small delight in watching him shake his head, looking like he had sucked on a lemon or five. Every time he'd come at her, she'd come back harder. It was almost getting boring. But his next few words were enough to send chills down her spine.

"Go ahead, enjoy your little moral victory. They're going to be very, very hard to come by after the legal system is done with your boyfriend."

All traces of a smile faded from her features, a serious look on her face as her brows furrowed together. What was he getting at? The _legal system?_ And why would he threaten his friend, someone he practically worshipped? She had a hard time connecting the dots here. Paul noticed it and decided that clarifying it would help.

"Word on the grapevine is that the fan Punk struck is leaning toward pressing charges and suing him and the company...and it could be costly. Now wouldn't that be something? Going from being the best in the world...to another wrestling tragedy, broke, penniless, and bitter at everything. Such a shame that would be..."

All traces of rational thought exited her body as, within seconds, she had Paul by the collar of his cheap button down shirt and, somehow, had planted him up against the nearby wall. Through gritted teeth, she spoke. "What the hell do you know, slime ball", the words coming out as more of a statement/threat than a question. But all Paul did was smile that smug, smarmy smile of his. She could kill him right now if she wanted to.

"What I do know is that very soon, you're going to have to listen to what I have to say, do what I say, or it's gonna be a very, very unhappy time for your **boyfriend.** Does your adolescent little brain comprehend that?"

AJ tightened her grip on Paul's collar. "Why would you do this to him? He's your friend, Heyman! He owes his career here to you! What the hell do you know!?"

"Soon enough, you'll find out", he managed to choke out. Hearing footsteps behind her, she released her grip on him and saw Punk walking over to them. Paul fixed himself up quickly as Punk arrived, placing a kiss on AJ's cheek and shaking Paul's hand. "Nice to see you, champ."

"Yeah, you too Paul. Hey crazy train, can I borrow you for a moment?", he asked his girlfriend, giving Paul a look that told him to buzz off and give them some privacy. Nodding his head, Paul silently waved his client and friend goodbye, all while keeping his eyes fixated on AJ. Needless to say, she was doing the same.

"Hey, what was that all about?", Punk questioned her, leading her by the hand to his locker room.

Looking over her shoulder at the evil smirk that Paul was wearing, she shook her head of the thought, opting to deal with it later. "Nothing...just Paul being Paul."

* * *

**And that's a wrap! What is Paul going to do? Will AJ listen? Is Punk going to find out? We'll see next time. And make sure to check out the story that Red Foxy and I are co-writing, My life was simple, and then I met you. It's an awesome read! See you all next time! =)**


	18. one year later

**Hey everybody! Long time no see! xD It's been a while since I updated this though, the longest I've probably gone between updates since I started it. Well, wait no longer! Here's the new chapter. Before you dive into it, check out the fic I'm co-writing with Red Foxy, My life was simple, and then I met you! It's an awesome read. And check out her fic as well, Take Me With You, it's one of the best out there. And also check out Punklee Nation, created by Jean The Guardian, home to all your favorite Punklee stories! And with that, enjoy the new chapter! =)**

* * *

**The Kiss Of Death**

* * *

_November 20th, 2011_

_Survivor Series_

_One year ago..._

Covered in Alberto's and his own sweat, Punk made his way to the gorilla position, the WWE Title hanging loosely from his shoulder. He was on top of the wrestling world yet again, and there was nothing that was gonna take him off of cloud nine, not now, not for the foreseeable future. Gingerly making his way down the steps and into the backstage halls of Madison Square Garden, he was immediately met with a murderer's row of fellow wrestlers, road agents and stagehands, all of whom were giving him a round of applause and serenading him with chants of _'Best In The World'_. Smiling a mile wide, he waded through the large crowd, everyone either slapping his back, tousling his wet, slicked hair, touching the title, or shaking his hand until he made it to the end of the line, where he was met by Daniel and AJ, both of whom had smiles that matched his.

Punk and Daniel looked at each other for a long, hard moment, words escaping them as the reality of the moment set in. Daniel looked at the WWE Title, then to the blue, Money In The Bank briefcase sitting at his feet, shaking his head in amazement. He then extended his hand to his old friend and the new WWE Champion. "Well, one of us had to make it, huh?"

Punk grinned and gave an amused snort, shaking the American Dragon's hand. "Not bad for an indy schmuck, huh?", he asked rhetorically, before pulling the Washington native in for a brotherly hug. "You'll be on top with me soon enough, my friend", Punk whispered, to which Daniel nodded his head in agreement. The two men remained like that for a moment, before little AJ cleared her throat, causing the two men to turn and look at her quizzically.

"Anything you wanna add, kiddo?", Punk asked her as she moved into the forefront, twisting a curl of her hair around her finger, looking up at the new champion shyly. She was always like this whenever they talked, and it made him smile. There such an innocence about her...

Taking a step forward, she hugged him, not caring if his sweat was going to be all over her. Shocked and taken back by her act, Punk slowly returned the favor, smiling and shaking his head. She always wanted to hug him every time they ran into each other. "Congrats, Punk. You're going to make a great champion."

"Thanks kiddo. I'll make sure to do you proud."

* * *

_November 18th, 2012_

_Survivor Series_

_One year later..._

Punk found himself staring out at the lights as the bus whipped by them, on the highway to the middle of nowhere, letting everything soak in while he could. One year. Three hundred and sixty five days. Unheard of in this era. Nobody thought it'd be possible for this to happen. One year? A lot of people laughed at that notion. His reign should have ended in the Elimination Chamber back in February. It didn't. WrestleMania. Extreme Rules. Over The Limit. No Way Out. Money In The Bank. SummerSlam. Night Of Champions. Hell In A Cell. And now, Survivor Series, his fourth triple threat title defense. Ryback. Cena. There was no way, everyone thought, he'd escape with the title again.

He did.

When he returned backstage, most everyone that hadn't left the arena to beat the traffic congratulated him on making it to this milestone. Even John, in his beaten down state, came up and congratulated him, which he really appreciated. And it warmed his heart and made him think good things about the future of the business when the NXT Three, Dean, Seth and Roman, came to him backstage and thanked him and Paul profusely for giving them the chance to shine on the big stage. All of it was great.

But none of it mattered once he looked into AJ's amaretto eyes and felt her plush lips against his. Just him and her. The way it was meant to be. Batman and Harley Quinn. Hand in hand, the two of them left the arena, walking into the crisp, chilling Indianapolis air, feeling a sense of massive accomplishment between the two of them. Word had trickled down the grapevine that AJ was in line for the push of her life heading into WrestleMania season, leading to a feud with Eve over the Divas Title.

The way she lit up when he broke the news to her was almost as great as all the respect he had been shown for making it to one year. This was the happiest he could remember the two of them being, aside from when they first started out together. And yet, he couldn't help but shake this sense of ominous foreboding, that _something_ on the horizon was going to shake things up...and not in a good way.

Feeling AJ's delicate hand fall on his shoulder, he looked up at her and saw that the smile she had been wearing since they left was now replaced by a look of worry. Frowning, he patted the seat next to him, silently inviting her to sit down for a spell.

"Are you okay, Phillip?", she asked somewhat timidly, snuggling up next to him as she tried to get comfortable. "You haven't said anything since we left the arena and got on the road."

He shook his head, exhaling as he turned back to look at the road. This calmed him, staring out at the darkness, the random lights that flew by their only guide in this crazy life that they lived. "I'm fine, April. Just putting everything that's happened this past year into perspective."

A relieved look appeared on her face as she breathed. Resting her head against his ribs, his arm wrapped protectively around her, she sighed. She was so proud of him, so very, very proud of the fact that _her_ Phillip, _her_ Punkers, _her everything_, had made it this far and forever left his stamp on the WWE. Nobody would forget him now. "Anything in particular you're reminiscing about?", she asked, his fingers trailing up and down her arm, sending tingles down her spine.

"I remember, back in January...they were really thinking of taking the title off of me and putting it on Ziggles. The ratings weren't where they wanted them...people tuned out during my matches or segments, they said. I just laughed and kept chugging along. There's other things I'm thinking about too...", he trailed off, looking down at _his_ April lovingly, placing a kiss on the crown of her head, inhaling her scent. Vanilla. _He loved that particular one..._

"Like?", she questioned, smiling as she felt his kiss on top of her dark, wild mane.

"Getting word that they were gonna let me and Daniel feud over the title. I was blown away, to be honest. Vince and Hunter pulled us aside right after Extreme Rules and told us, and we both just hugged each other", he said, a twinkle in his grey green eye as he harkened back to May. "That's when I knew that we had truly made it."

"You know, if I remember correctly...the two of you feuding led to something else...", AJ said, giggling at how she had the news broken to her that she'd be interjected into the middle of the storyline.

"Yeah, that big bastard Kane being thrown in there. Dude is stiffer than a fucking two by four", he commented, earning himself a playful slap on the hand from AJ. "What? Like I'm lying."

"Oh _Phillip_", she cooed, sitting up to look him in the eye, kissing him briefly before pulling back. "Such a joker you are."

"I thought I was Batman though?"

AJ gave him a look, then giggled again. "You can be whatever you want to be, Philly. But tonight, you're the WWE Champion of one full year, the best in the world...and mine to cuddle with all night long. If you can keep up, that is", she said, winking and sticking her tongue out at him, teasing him with the fact that he still wasn't quite ready to take the next step in their relationship.

He rolled his eyes, getting the thinly veiled shot at him hidden in her words. It didn't matter, though. She was cool with waiting, and he was grateful for that. Besides, it was well known within some circles that he was an absolute cuddle whore, something he didn't try to refute anymore. Removing his arm from around AJ, he stood up and in one fluid motion, scooped her up into his arms bridal style, carrying her to the back of the bus, to his room.

Hours later, after much cuddling and kissing, the two of them were soundly asleep, AJ's back to his chest, his arm possessively draped around her body, holding her close. However, the sound of his phone buzzing caused him to groan. Maneuvering slowly so that he wouldn't wake sleeping beauty next to him, he slid out of the bed and grabbed his phone, checking the texts. It was from Paul. Of course. It read simply.

_We need to talk. You won't like what's going to happen tomorrow..._

**xXx**

"You're going to have her do _what?_"

Punk's question rang through the once silent air as he looked to AJ, then to Paul, then to the writer that presented this stupid idea, then finally to John. His steely glare was fixed on the leader of the Cenation, and for once, he saw John squirm under it. He knew that John wasn't all gung ho with this angle like he would be with others in the past, and he knew damn well why.

"She's going to start an on screen relationship with John. They're going to kiss in the ring tonight to confirm it. The scandal storyline will go and take off from there.

John looked to Punk, a stone cold expression on his face as he let the words sink in. He had seen how fiercely protective Punk was of his sisters, his friends...and especially AJ. Whatever he had to say, he knew it wasn't going to be good or lacking colorful words. He was just hoping that it'd be short and sweet, to the point.

"And you think that this is good for her, good for John even, and good for business? You think this is going to work out in the end and everyone is going to be better off because of it?"

"Yes, we do think that. It'll give AJ the boost she needs to get her to her eventual program with Eve over the Divas Title", the young man said, a trace of nervousness in his voice as he swallowed hard and tried his best to brace himself for the eventual outburst that was sure to come.

Punk's left eye twitched, and when AJ saw that, she immediately stepped in front of him, knowing it was his tell. Putting her hand on his chest, she felt his heart beating rapidly. Before he could say anything, she took him by the hand and led him away from the pack, with Paul following closely behind, much to her dismay. Once they were a safe distance away, she let go of Punk's hand and saw how red in the face he was. _'Oh boy...'_

"They **must** write that shit when they're all fucking high", he spat, veins popping out of his neck as he balled up his fists and looked like he was ready to take a swing at anyone or anything. "There's **no fucking way** I'm letting any of this happen!"

Looking at Paul with a _'Why are you even here?'_ kind of face, AJ quickly turned her attentions back to her very pissed off boyfriend. "Phillip, listen...relax for a second, take a deep breath, alright? It's not that big of a deal..."

She wished she could have taken back those words. "Not that big of a deal? It's a **big fucking deal**, April! It's a huge, whopper sized deal! You think I'm just gonna let this kind of shit slide without saying anything or doing anything to get it shelved!?"

"They're not going to shelve the angle, Punk", she heard Paul comment softly, and she shot daggers in his direction, while he put his hands up in surrender, though that slimy, lizard-like smirk of his was apparent in every one of his movements.

"Like hell they're not, Paul! I'm the WWE Champion, I've got pull in this damn company, and I don't want my girlfriend sucking face with Cena! _Cena_ doesn't even want to do this, what the hell does that tell you!?", he asked vengefully, the rage seeping from the pores in his skin.

"Phillip,_ please_...", she began to plead with him, placing a gentle, calming hand on his wrist. "I understand that you're upset, and you have every right to be...but I can't do anything about this, and neither can you. Hunter wanted this, and you know how Hunter likes to never change his mind", she said, hearing him snort and mutter something terrible about the COO of the company.

She gazed up into his grey green eyes and cupped his cheek in her tiny hand, pulling him close to her so that their foreheads were touching. She repeated something she had been telling him for a while now, something to assuage his fears. "You know I only have eyes for you, Philly."

He sighed and nodded his head against hers. Even if John Boy didn't feel comfortable with the whole thing, he still hated the feeling that Cena gave him, like he was second best at everything and would never compare to the great golden boy of the company. "I know, crazy train. It just...it just** had** to be Cena..."

She went to say something more, but a cough coming from behind Punk caused her to roll her eyes irritably and sigh; of course, she forgot that Paul was still there, like a god damn watch dog, waiting for the right time to muck up their little moment together. Letting go of Punk, she looked past him and gave Paul a death glare. "What do you want?", she asked angrily.

"I hate to break up this tender moment between you two love birds, but me and Punk have some business to discuss, and it simply cannot wait. Do you mind giving us men some space?", he asked, grinning like the disgusting bastard he was.

Shaking her head and mouthing some choice words for the voice of the voice of the voiceless, she turned back to Punk, who silently apologized to her for his friend's behavior. "I'll see you later then, Phillip", she whispered, leaning up to give him a kiss before turning on her heel and skipping away.

Grinning as he watched her skip off, Punk turned around to face Paul, who had a very serious, very business-like look on his face as the two men took seats on a nearby crate. Before his associate could utter a peep, Punk broke the ice himself. "Paul, what's up? What's on your mind?", he asked.

"What's gotten into you as of late?", the balding New Yorker said, wasting no time in getting to the point. "You were all business and no play when it came to working. Ever since that child entered your life, you've been putting way too much time into her and not enough time into this", he said, gesturing to everything surrounding them. "I don't even think I know who you _are_ anymore, Punk."

An exasperated look spread across Punk's face as he dragged his hand over it, cursing under his breath. If this was really what he wanted to talk to him about..."Paul, cut the crap. You've been my friend and confidant for a good six years now, right?"

He nodded. "And we've always been open with each other about a lot of things, right?"

Another nod of the head. "Ok, that being said...why the hell do you have it in for AJ? Honestly, what has she ever done to you? I told you that I get that you don't like her, but truth be told, I don't get it. What the fuck is your issue with her?", he said, his voice raising an octave over the last few words.

Holding his hands up in mock surrender, Paul shook his head and sighed. His client was so predictable. Always so angry, so protective, like he had mother hen syndrome. "My issue isn't necessarily with her, Phil. Am I still allowed to call you Phil? Whatever. My issue is with what she's doing to you. She's drawn your focus to her little issues, to her stupid fairy tale dreams that a girl like her could land with a guy like you, and you're catering to those childish fantasies. Do I need to remind you who you are?"

"I'm the WWE Champion and the best in the world, thanks for the refresher course", Punk shot back, growing more and more irritated as every second that passed by. "Not to try and cross a line here Paul, but is this the kind of shit you teach your kids?", he said, not caring that Paul was now just as pissed off as he currently was. "That it's all work work work, no time for play? Why is it so wrong that I'm actually thriving in a relationship and balancing my career at the same time?"

"This isn't about your career anymore, damn it! You've put your whole world in hers, and whatever happens out there in the ring is just for the fun of it now!", the New York native yelled at him. And then it hit Punk like a sack of potatoes. His eyes grew wide and his jaw hung for a moment, jutting out to the side as he let the whole thing sink in and marinate.

"It's not about me or my title reign anymore. I don't even think it was about that in the first place. It's not even about AJ or how I feel about her. I know what it's all about", he said, drawing out the last few words. "It's about you, Paul. All of it. You can't stand the fact that I'm not doing every single little thing with you anymore. You can't stand the fact that you can't control my every move anymore. I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner...", Punk said, standing up and towering over Paul. "Her's a news flash for you, buddy ole pal, I don't need you tonight. In fact, I probably don't even need you for the house shows this weekend. When you're ready to stop acting like a fucking spoiled five year old, then come talk to me. Right now, though, hit the bricks, Paul."

So he walked away. Didn't look back to see the seething look on Paul's face. He was smiling the entire way, all the way into AJ's waiting arms. Little did he know that that sense of foreboding he had felt the previous night was beginning to creep up on him...

**xXx**

AJ watched as Punk and Paul made their way out to the ring. Judging by the furious look on his face, Punk wanted to murder Paul for being out there; she distinctly remembered hearing Punk tell her that he had told Heyman, in no uncertain terms, to 'go the fuck home and stay there'. She made a mental note to be there when the two men returned backstage. She had a feeling she was going to derive great pleasure from seeing Paul squeal like a pig when her Punkers was done with him...

Just then, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Dean, Seth and Roman standing behind her. She smiled up at the three men dressed in black as they readied themselves to go through the crowd. She knew them all from her days in FCW, or the rebranded NXT as they were calling it now. They were all really nice to her, and they practically idolized Punk. They were cool in her book. "Hey guys! What's up?", she chirped.

"Uh, nothin' much", Dean replied, flashing a brief smile. "We were told to give you this though, before we went out there. It's from Paul", he continued, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, our cue is comin'. See ya later."

Wondering just what the hell Paul would want this time, she waited until the three of them were gone before opening the letter. Rolling her eyes at the beginning of it, she scrolled through most of the garbage he had scrawled on it before she felt her heart nearly stop.

Dropping the letter, her eyes found the monitor she was watching everything on, looking as Punk had his foot on top of Ryback once more, the title held high...but she was looking at Paul...and when her heart started up again, it fell to the pit of her stomach at the look he was giving her _champion_, her _boyfriend_, her _Phillip_.

She couldn't believe Paul was actually going through with his threats...

* * *

**That's that. Hope you all enjoyed. Until next time...**


	19. new jersey doesn't suck after all

**Hey everyone! Long time no see here! xD. It's been a busy last month, what with work and the holiday season, so taking the time to update this when I've been focussing on the fic I'm co-writing with Red Foxy has been scarce. But fear not! I shall begin updating this regularly again. And I hope you all enjoy the ride I'm going to be taking this fic on. Make sure to check out Dream Come True by Red Foxy, the sequel to her amazing fic, Take Me With You. And check out the community created by Jean The Guardian, Punklee Nation, filled to the brim with all your favorite Punklee fics! And now, onto the new chapter!**

* * *

"Is he going to be okay, doc?"

April stood up, watching as Dr. James Andrews, the world renowned physician, exited the operating room, removing his gloves and washing up before turning to face her. He had a smile on his leathery old lips as she motioned for him to sit down, taking residence along side her. That he was smiling did little to put her frazzled nerves at ease; ever since it was revealed that Phil's knee was deteriorating to the point of surgery, no matter how minor it was, she was still worried about how this would affect him...and his title reign. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was beginning to become like Paul in that regard...she wanted Phil's reign to keep chugging along, no matter what. The life long wrestling fan in her got off on it.

"Oh, he's going to be as good as new, maybe even better than that, my dear. The surgery was a rousing success. I estimate he'll be back to full strength within a month, month and a half tops."

"So he'll be able to compete at the Royal Rumble next month?", she asked, though she already knew what the answer would be to that question, she just wanted to make absolutely sure. She knew how badly Phil wanted to go against The Rock.

"Without a doubt. Knowing him, he'll want to go right now and get back in the ring immediately. But yes, he's going to be one hundred percent very soon", the doctor commented, patting her on the knee, which she found ironic given the circumstances.

She smiled up at him, her fears having been assuaged for the time being. Tucking strands of her hair behind her ears, she stood up, looking at the door where Dr. Andrews came from, where he performed the surgery. She wondered how doped up Phil would be, if he even took anything to get him through the procedure.

"Would you like to see him, dear?", he asked her, sensing that she wanted nothing _more_ than to see her wounded boyfriend. When she excitedly nodded her head in response, he gave the petite brunette a warm smile and stepped aside, giving her instant entry. Rushing past him, she burst into the room and felt her heart strings being tugged when she saw the way he was propped up in the bed.

His knee was elevated and there were various wires and tubes everywhere, and he looked so damn restless as he sat there in his hospital gown. The scowl disappeared from his face, though, the moment he made eye contact with her. **Finally**, he thought to himself, a friendly face. He was so relieved that he wouldn't have to be dealing with another fucking nurse right now.

"Hey there, little lady", he said weakly as she sat down at the edge of his bed and patted his good leg. "I was beginning to wonder when I'd see your face again."

"Wonder no more", she whispered back at him. In addition to being restless and irritated, he looked incredibly tired and just worn down to the bone. Instead of days, he looked like he hadn't slept for months on end. It made her think if he was forced to take drugs so he could get through the surgery; she sincerely hoped that that wasn't the case. Being straight edge wasn't something to make him different from everyone...it was his life. She didn't think he could live with himself if he was forced to take them. "You weren't...you know...Dr. Andrews didn't make you..."

"Nope, didn't take anything, didn't want anything. Dr. Andrews found out a little bit about straight edge yesterday", he responded, stifling a yawn as she stretched his arms out. "He was surprisingly cool with my not wanting drugs. Said I'm a real tough bastard."

April couldn't help but grin at his comments. Even when he was in supreme pain and looking like he was ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion, he still had his wit and charm. It was why she adored him as much as she did. "So when do I get to take you out of here and wait on you hand and foot?", she asked, sliding up next to him, her hand interlocking with his.

"I get out tomorrow and you know you don't have to do any of that, April. I'm a grown ass man, I'm not gonna let a bum knee stop me from doing anything", he said sternly, attempting to sit up, only to fall back into his pillows, his face wracked with pain. So much for that. "This is _nothing_, I'll be _fine_."

"Oh shut up and let me take care of you, Phillip. Don't act like you won't love it", she teased, running her thumb over his inked fingers. Seeing him yawn, she quickly realized just how tired he must really be. He looked ready to collapse and let sleep capture him for the first time in a while. "Getting sleepy there?"

"Me, get sleepy? Oh child, you know I don't do such menial things as sleep", he said, trying to be sarcastic but failing. He was starting to find it harder to keep his heavy lidded eyes open, and April's scent was playing with his senses at the moment. Maybe sleeping wasn't such a bad idea after all... "You smell like bubble gum right now", he blurted out.

April blushed. "I know...you really like that, if I remember correctly", she said, noticing how he was drifting further and further away from the land of the living. She took it upon herself to then curl up next to him, draping his arm over her as she rested her head on his stomach. "Just go to sleep, Phillip. I'll get you out of here tomorrow and take you back home. Until then though, sleep!", she commanded, starting to feel a little lethargic herself as she yawned and found the perfect spot on his stomach to rest her head. "And if it puts you at ease, I'll stay here with you."

A sleepy, lazy smile spread across Phil's lips as he traced his fingers along the smooth skin of her arm. He didn't say anything, nor did he need to right now. That she was here right now was more than enough for him. Words couldn't and wouldn't describe just how much he loved her at this moment. He was grateful and lucky that she had came into his life when she did. But then again...

"Luck is for losers", he whispered to himself as he finally faded into the sleep world, everything around him becoming black.

**xXx**

_One week later..._

He watched in amazement at how well she had this whole act down. April was in the process of flipping the fuck out in the middle of the ring, screaming, pounding her fists on the mat as she went full blown crazy chick. The fans of Newark began to eat it up and were cheering their homecoming girl on, wanting her to start destroying everything. And she was more than happy to oblige, sliding out of the ring, throwing chairs everywhere around the ringside area, even tipping one of the massive ladders by the announce table over. She then performed the coup de grace, slapping the ever loving taste out of Justin Roberts mouth; the sound was so loud that he winced, and he was all the way backstage.

Watching her stomp and storm up the ramp in a fit of rage, Phil gingerly stood up and grabbed his crutches, hobbling out of his dressing room and down the hall to where he would be meeting April after she was done doing her little segment with John Boy. Stopping short upon seeing the Massachusetts native, he waited silently and patiently for April to appear, which she did a few seconds later, in a huff. He had to admit, she looked so damn cute and...well, hot, when she was going all crazy like this. He'd never of admitted that to anyone but himself a few months ago, but, well, being in a relationship could change that, he reasoned to himself. After the cameras cut and began to leave, he limped over to her and John Boy, clearing his throat to get their attention.

April turned around on her heel and her eyes lit up upon seeing him, while John moved his hands to his sides, being respectful and mindful towards him and his relationship. "Alright Johnny, hit the bricks, it's my turn with her", he said as he slowly came to a stop in front of them, April latching onto him immediately.

"Your turn, huh?", John remarked, shaking his head. He looked to the WWE Champion and couldn't help but grin. "Whatever you say, champ. I'll see ya later, AJ", he said, saluting the tiny brunette before walking away, leaving the couple alone and in peace.

"Thank god, I thought he'd never leave", Phil remarked as he steadied himself on his crutches. "Was he gentle with you?", he then asked.

April couldn't help but roll her eyes and give him a playful shove. Always so protective and possessive of her, Phil was. She loved that about him. It made her feel like the most special girl in the world when he acted like this. "Of course he was, Phillip. You know that John's a gentleman in every sense of the word. He also knows that you won't hesitate to break his legs if he did anything inappropriate."

"It's nice knowing that the invincible John Cena is scared of me in that regard", he replied, smirking as the two of them began to walk the empty halls, no real reason as to why. Even though they travelled everywhere together, he felt like they never had any real alone time anymore. "So, what's on tap for the rest of the night? I'm done and I'm growing impatient", he said as they turned a corner and kept walking.

"Well, I've got one more little segment with John before the main event, and then I'm done too", she commented, twirling a strand of her dark brunette locks around her finger as she held onto Phil's arm, helping him walk. "Wanna grab something to eat after my segment? I know a killer place a couple of blocks away from here that you'd enjoy. One of the best cheeseburgers I've ever had!", she exclaimed happily, flashing that gorgeous smile of hers that made him putty in her hands.

"Hmm...", he pondered the thought for a moment. A cheeseburger sounded _real_ good right about now. "Yeah, that'll definitely work. I'm down", he commented as he came to a stop, resting against one of the crates for a moment. Placing his crutches to the side, he opened his arms and let April enter his embrace, his arms wrapping around her slender frame, using one of his hands to stroke her hair. "So...I'm not on the road for the foreseeable future...and from what I heard, a certain someone requested time off until TLC...does that certain someone wanna show me around the lovely state of New Jersey?"

Her ears ticked up, almost like she hadn't heard him. Was she dreaming that? He actually wanted her to show him around New Jersey? It sounded too good to be true. "Um...I like the idea, and I don't mean to rain on it...but...don't you like, kinda, you know, _hate_ this state?", she questioned, placing her head against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat calming to her. "You're always telling me how much you think Jersey sucks", she then added.

A grin crept across his lips as he licked at his lip ring. "I do always tell you about how much Jersey sucks, but I'm willing to travel around and see if I can be proven wrong. I'm sure there's more to this place, this state than what I always see", he commented, still stroking her hair. "Besides, you'd be my tour guide. That's a plus already."

April smiled, tightening her grip on his waist. "Well then, first thing tomorrow, we're going on a tour of New Jersey, and I think you'll like where we're gonna go", she said, looking up into his grey green eyes, giving him a peck on the lips. They stared at each other for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, and then before they both knew it, they were making out in the middle of the hall. Phil grabbed her by her hips and, in one somewhat swift motion due to his knee, lifted her up and placed her on the crate so that she was at eye level with him.

They dueled for power, their tongues doing the dance that they were both so accustomed to doing. April tipped the hat he was wearing off his head, grabbing him by the back of his neck to pull him closer, while her hand gripped the fabric of his shirt. His hands began to slide down from the small of her own back to her hips, then exploring the rest of her tight, petite body. Just as his hands began to roam up to her chest, and hers down to his belt, John's voice could be heard calling out for her. Their lips still locked, Phil groaned in frustration as he heard the footsteps getting closer. "I'm gonna do more than break his legs", he growled. "Biggest. Cockblock. Ever."

"Even I have to admit that John's a buzz kill right now", she murmured, breaking off, but not before placing one last, wet kiss on her boyfriend's lips. "His timing is impeccable", she added as she hopped off the crate and handed Phil his crutches, right as John walked up, big smile on his lips, like he knew he had just interrupted the fun time the couple was indulging in.

"Ready for this segment, AJ?", John asked as he walked up to them, patting Phil hard on the back, which earned him the dirtiest of glares from the WWE Champion. All John did was smile, quite annoyingly, at Phil, while April reluctantly released the grip she had on Phil to walk with John down the hall to film their bit together.

"Yeah, I'm ready, let's go", she replied, taking a second to give her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be done in ten minutes, and then we'll go, okay?", she said, letting go of his hand as she began to follow John.

"I'll be on the bus", he said back, watching her disappear down the hall. Gingerly turning around, he began to hobble his way toward the garage. "Fucking fruity pebble", he muttered under his breath as he walked. "He ruins everything."

**xXx**

"Here we are", April said as the bus pulled up to the rather large building bedecked in Christmas regalia. "The Liberty Science Center. Pretty neat looking, huh?", she asked him as they looked at it through the windows.

Phil took in the appearance of the place, noticing the rather large dome that stood out among all of it. Everything else was dazzled and glistening with Christmas decorations, which made him grimace. Not his favorite holiday in the world, everyone who knew him knew that. But he saw how April's eyes were beaming with joy, and he didn't want to rain on her parade. "Yeah, guess so. What's with that big friggin' dome there?", he asked, pointing to it.

"That, my love, is the nation's largest IMAX dome theater", she said with a confident smile, doing her best to ignore the look that he was giving her. After a few seconds though, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I looked it up on my phone. Happy now?"

"Indeed I am", he replied, a smirk on his lips as he ruffled her hair, hearing her mutter the word _'dick'_ under her breath. "Oh, there's no need for name calling, girl. Even if it is true."

"Ha ha", she replied back sarcastically. "Let's go before I decide to leave you stranded in the middle of downtown Trenton", she then added as the bus doors swung open and she stepped outside, waiting for Phil to slowly make his way down the steps. She offered her hand out to him as he reached the last step, which he took gratefully.

"Trenton? Doesn't that place have the highest crime rate in America, or close to it?", he asked, watching her nod in response. He scoffed as he grabbed his crutches and let April lead the way. "Still not as dangerous as Rockford. The amount of shit that happens there...", he began to say, getting cut off with the wave of her hand. "What? You started it."

She shook her head, not helping the smile that spread across her lips. "Sometimes, I forget how much of a child you can be", she commented, sticking her tongue out at him as they came to the front doors and she held them open for him.

"This coming from the girl who owns four different Pikachu shirts", he replied back, grinning at her as he entered and stopped almost immediately. He began to marvel just how big the place was on the inside as opposed to what it looked like outside. His eyes grew wider with each second that ticked away, he couldn't believe just how loaded the fucking place was with exhibit after exhibit. No wonder why April gushed about this place when she proposed the idea to him. It was like a giant playground for two grown ass kids like themselves.

The smile on her lips couldn't have been sandblasted off if someone had dared tried. She watched as Phil hobbled to the middle of the floor, his eyes trained upward, his jaw hanging. He shook his head to bring himself back to reality, enticing a giggle from her as she joined his side. The look on his face was worth everything by itself. Her day had been made. "See, told ya that you'd love this place."

He was speechless. This didn't happen on a daily basis. He had to pick his jaw up off the floor, so to speak, so that he didn't look like a dumbass to everyone that was passing them by. Of all the places that April had taken him so far during the course of the day, this was by far the best. Turning in a half circle, his eyes caught something that piqued his interest. "What the hell is the Touch Tunnel?", he asked aloud, more to himself than to April.

"Ooh! You'll love that!", she exclaimed giddily, clutching his elbow. "Come on, we can take the elevator up to it", she said, practically dragging him to where they needed to be, almost forgetting the fact that he was just coming off of knee surgery. When he cursed rather loudly to himself, she let go of him and had an embarrassed, almost sheepish look on her face. "Oops...sorry Philly...", she apologized.

"No need to", he said through gritted teeth. "I didn't **just** have knee surgery a week ago. I'll survive", he continued as they entered the elevator. He saw the apologetic look on April's face and in her doe eyes, shaking his head and sighing, a small grin spreading across his lips. "Sometimes, I forget just how young you are", he said as the elevator reached the third floor, where the exhibit was. "Not that it matters or changes how I feel about you or anything like that..."

"Age is but a number, Phillip", she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't care if there's nine years separating us. We're meant to be together, no matter the gap." She smiled up at him, placing a kiss on his whiskered cheek before they came to a stop. "Here it is! The Touch Tunnel. Now seeing as you can't really afford to crawl around on all fours due to...well, you know", she said, pointing at his knee, to which he rolled his eyes, "I'll go in there and you get to watch and guide me. Here", she said, leading him to the set where everything was. "Put these headphones on...I'll slip this earpiece in...and voila. Now I can hear everything you say."

Phil looked skeptical as he watched someone on the monitor try to navigate their way through the tunnel. "So you can't see anything, huh? Only have to rely on touch and your other senses. And I have to guide you?", he asked as she nodded her head eagerly. "Okay then. Sounds pretty cool actually. Too bad we can't do it together...", he said, winking down at her, watching her blush madly and giggle like a school girl.

"Easy boy...there'll be plenty of time for that later", she said, turning away from him. "I'm going in. Don't get me lost in there, alright Phillip?"

He nodded and watched as she entered the tunnel. He was watching her every move, not saying anything as she moved about the darkened tunnel. "Hey April...", he said, trying to find the appropriate words to convey his message. "Thanks for today. I had a lot of fun." The words came out sincere and heartfelt, and on the monitor, he saw her smile. He could tell she took the words to heart.

"You're more than welcome, Phil", she replied as she went around a corner. "Anything for the best in the world...hey, I've got a question", she added on. When he didn't respond immediately, she decided to forge on with it. "Seeing as the holiday's are upon us and everyone's all in loving and festive moods..."

"What do you want, April?", he asked, knowing she wanted something from him.

"Would you consider meeting my parents tomorrow?"

He'd have been lying if he said that the question posed to him didn't catch him off guard. Meet the Mendez family...a daunting task if there ever was one. He remembered the last time he met one of his girlfriend's parents...Beth's...it didn't end so well for all of those involved. If anything, it sped up the deterioration of his relationship with her. But what he had with April...this was different. He felt differently about her than any of the other girls he had dated. This relationship...he knew it could last, that it had staying power. So, he figured, coming to his decision...why the hell not?

He didn't even see her exit the tunnel, beaming as brightly as the sun as she walked up to him. Feeling her hand on his shoulder, he spun around to face her. "Well? Would you?", she asked, hopeful of a positive answer.

"Sure. I'd love to", he responded, instantly feeling her lips on his as she kissed him and hugged him tighter than she ever had. When she released her grip to look at him, it was with eyes full of love and adoration.

"You truly are the best in the world."

"Yeah. I know."

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**And that's that. Special thanks to Maizeandbluekid for the suggestions on what to do here. Hope you all enjoyed! Be on the look out for updates soon. =)**


	20. a loss for words

**Hey everyone...it's been too long since I've updated this. 2013 so far has been non stop with work and other things, but I plan on updating this somewhat regularly again now that everything's beginning to slow down. So with that, I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter! And make sure to check out Punklee Nation, filled to the brim with all your favorite stories by all your favorite authors!**

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**The Kiss Of Death**

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**Raw. 1x7x13**

As he pulled the WWE Title down off it's rung and felt it's heaviness in his taped hands, the crowd roared; half with elation, half with disapproval, but he didn't care. His body was wracked with pain, his surgically repaired knee felt like it had been flung through the wringer, and he was pretty sure he suffered either a minor concussion or he had one hell of a migraine forming in his skull with that last tumble he had taken through the table. Again though, he didn't care. He had his title entrenched firmly in his grasp, the Royal Rumble and his date with Dwayne in his sights, and April waiting backstage for him, a mini vacation planned for the two of them to God knew where. He took it upon himself to stand up, steadying himself on the twelve foot tall ladder, looking at the fans that had packed the building tonight, and let loose a scream.

**"BEST IN THE WOOOORRLLLLD!"**

He could hear a smattering of fans, wearing his shirts, recite the chant with him. He was now sitting down on the ladder, straddling it, both legs dangling from each side as he took the strap of the title and put it in his mouth, biting down on it as he extended his arms, striking an award winning pose, no doubt. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Paul crying, or at least looking like he was, clapping his hands and offering words of endearment for him as he sat atop his perch, truly on top of the wrestling world. He rolled his eyes at the display his manager was putting on, turning his attention to the fact that he felt like the king of the mountain sitting there, watching the fans both cheer and equally jeer.

A few minutes later, he slowly made his way backstage, behind the curtain, waiting for his opponent to make his own way back there. Soon enough, the massive monstrosity known as Ryback lumbered through the curtain, holding his ribs and shaking his head of the cobwebs that were still forming. When the two men made eye contact, Phil stepped forward, arms extended, and wrapped them around the hulking mass of humanity, while Ryback did the same.

"Hell of a fight out there, kid", Phil remarked as he patted the man's large shoulders, releasing himself from the brotherly embrace and stepping back a few inches. "This", he said, looking at the title that rested in Paul's hands, "is going to be yours one day. Keep up the hard work."

"Thanks Punk", the beast gruffed out, shaking his hand and giving his own head another quick shake. "Damn, the three of them got me good", he then said, referencing his own trip taken to table-ville courtesy of the Shield. "I'm gonna be feeling this for a couple of days."

He grinned, then winced as he felt a small jolt of pain shoot through his repaired knee. Even if the docs had told him he was good to go, he was going to be hindered by this for a long, long time, given his previous knee issues. All those times dropping the Pepsi Plunge in ROH and other indies were catching up with him. "That's why I always say that there's no such thing as winners when it comes to TLC matches. Career shorteners all around, is what they are. I'm just glad we got through this without dying", he commented, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, trying to ease the pain that was coursing through there currently.

"Yeah", the beast responded. "Well, I'm gonna head out and get iced down. I'll see ya 'round", he said, shaking his hand once more and exiting down the hall quietly, leaving just him and Paul there, who was tapping his foot on the ground and looking at his watch, constantly checking the time every five seconds or so.

"Is it clobbering time again?", he asked rhetorically, smirking as he moved past Paul and began to make his way down the halls to his locker room, where he could hopefully get some rest before he went right back out there to have his little heart to heart with Dwayne in the middle of the ring. He could hear Paul following him every step of the way behind him, like a dog would his owner, right into the room, where a cooler filled to the brim with ice packs and a welcoming chair were waiting for him.

"No, but we have about twenty minutes before you go back out there to close the show", Paul remarked, looking at his watch again, then seeing the almost devilish grin creep across Phil's lips as the words left his lips. "Which means..."

"I'm gonna go see April real quick, don't wait up", and before Paul knew it, his champion was out the door faster than The Flash. At first, he wasn't going to bother to attempt to go after him, but after a quick moment of thought, there he was, running after him, finally catching up with him a little ways down the hall. Panting and gasping for air, his hands on his knees as he hunched over and sucked in a deep breath, he placed his hand on Phil's arm, more so to steady himself than to get the man's attention. "What, Paul? What could you possibly want from me now?"

"You can't be rushing off like this to see that little girl when you've got the show closing segment with Rocky on deck! That's not something you take lightly!", he exclaimed, hoping to appeal to the side of his client that still got off on big moments like these. The side that still gave a damn about wrestling one hundred percent of the time, all of the time...if it even existed anymore, that is.

He sighed and shook his head, growing very irritated, very quickly. He had twenty minutes before he had to be back at his locker room. Twenty minutes! What the hell was the harm in just popping by to see his girlfriend and let her know that as soon as he was done in the ring, they'd be on the bus and heading to destination where ever she wanted to go, because he was being a gentleman and letting her choose the place where they'd have their mini vacation. There _was_ no harm...all those thoughts swam through his mind as he tapped his foot on the floor and looked to the ceiling, questioning the heavens above as to why this was happening to him right now.

"Listen to me _very_ carefully, Paul", he said slowly, dragging each word out as he ran his taped hand over his buzzed head. "I'm just checking up on her to make sure she's packed for when we leave. Nothing more, nothing less. Cool your god damn jets, okay?", he scolded, shaking his head in disbelief. Paul was getting more and more ridiculous as the weeks passed on. His time away from the ring when he was rehabbing his knee and spending every day with April? Forget about it, his phone was constantly blowing up with texts and calls from the New York native, to the point where he shut his phone off for three days to avoid it all. And what a wonderfully peaceful, quiet three days they were...

He was snapped out of his little daydream by Paul's hand waving in his face, making him come to his senses. Ever since management had practically enforced that Paul was going to be working with him for the duration of his latest heel run, he was becoming more insufferable than he was before he tried shaking loose of his old friend. He had the underlying feeling that Paul had some ulterior motive behind acting the way he was, but what with Dwayne and the Rumble taking up most of his time that wasn't spent with April, he had little time to really care about what scheme his manager could be concocting behind his back.

"Just hold your god damn horses Paul, I'm doing this whether you like it or not", he snapped before he could get a word in edgewise to him. Stepping away, he poked his head into the Diva's locker room and, sure enough, saw April sitting in the middle of the room, gossiping with Kaitlyn and Layla about whatever it was they usually gossiped about. "Hey pretty lady", he crooned.

Her eyes immediately lit up at the sound of his voice, turning to face him with that smile of hers that made his day every time he saw it. "Hey you", she cooed as she stood up and met him at the door, placing a kiss on his cheek. "What brings you by? Don't you have to be out there with Rocky soon?"

"Yes, I do, and Paul won't stop driving that fact home", he said, rolling his eyes as he spoke the words, chuckling a little bit when April did the same thing. She was beginning to act like him without even knowing it. "I just thought I'd swing by to see if you were all packed and ready to go when the show's over."

A nod of her head confirmed that for him. "Yeah, just gotta finish putting a few things away and we're good. Now go, you don't want Paul to suffer a hernia waiting for you...though honestly, that would be pretty funny, now that I think about it..."

He grinned and shook his head. "I'll see you later, sweetheart." He leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek, disappearing from the room, yelling at Paul that he was on his way, which made her giggle. As she sat back down, she heard her phone ringing, and, without thinking to see who it was that was calling her, answered.

"Hello there...this is AJ Mendez, yes, how may I help you?...yes, my father's name is Richard...I spoke with him the other day..."

**xXx**

"Understand, that when you step into the ring...your arms are just too short to box with **God.**"

He kept repeating that line over and over to himself during the rest of his stare down with Dwayne, hearing the crowd's reaction to it, and the silent acknowledgement in Dwayne's eyes that told him it was a good way to end his dialogue. They traded barbs back and forth for a few more minutes before he ate a Rock Bottom and rolled out of the ring, crawling over to his WWE Title and clutching it in his grasp much like he had earlier in the night. He did his best not to show just how much pain he was in though, because lord, did his back hate him right now.

He forgot all about the pain, though, the moment he stood up and felt the adrenaline begin to course through his veins, the altercation having gotten his blood flowing and pumped him up as he walked through the curtain and made his way down the Gorilla and into the halls. He saw Paul waiting outside his locker room but he held his hand up to silence him before he could even utter a peep. "Paul, it's officially eleven thirty, which means I'm off the clock for the next few days. Please, for the love of Jeebus, don't call or text me while I'm away. I'll see you Saturday", he said in one long breath. When Paul didn't immediately walk away, he rolled his eyes and dragged his front teeth over his lip ring. "You can go. **Now.**"

Finally taking the hint, Paul muttered under his breath and slinked away, not looking back once, his shoulders lowered in defeat. Feeling good about himself and what was on the immediate horizon, he entered the locker room, quickly scooped together all of his belongings, and made his way down the hall to the Divas locker room. Pushing the door open, he wasn't expecting to see the scene that was laid out before him. That is, it was utter chaos in the room.

The girls were running all over the place, items were tossed about everywhere...it looked like a hurricane or an earthquake had swept through the entire room and the girls were trying to figure out what to do about it. He stood there, half amazed and half intrigued at what could have possibly triggered such a reaction from them all to get them all so whipped up like they were. Eventually, he saw Layla zoom by him for the fourth time and luckily he was quick enough to grab hold of her arm and reel her back to him for some questioning. "What the hell happened here, Lay?"

"Can't talk, emergency came up!", she practically screamed in his face, slipping out of his hold and running to the bathroom in the back of the room. That's when he saw Kaitlyn and did the same, grabbing hold of her and bringing her closer to him.

"Now I know _you'll_ talk to me. You have to, I'm dating your best friend, that practically makes us family", he said with a bit of a smirk, causing her to huff and puff and roll her eyes at him. "You wanna tell me what's going on here? Is April around? We've got a trip to get to and..."

"She's not here at the moment Punk, so excuse me, I have to go find her", she said, and that's when his alarms went off. No way he was letting the two toned Diva go anywhere now. "Dude, let go!"

"Nuh uh, not a chance. The fuck do you mean _'she's not here?'_ This is the Divas locker room, where the hell else would she be?", he damn near screamed in her face, his grip getting a little bit tighter. "What happened? Why is everyone else but her here right now?"

"We searched the trucks, there's no sign of her there", rang the voice of Dolph as he and Big E. Langston entered the room, looking as concerned as everyone else in the room. "Where the hell could she have ran off to?"

"I don't know! I was in the middle of looking for her when _someone_ here decided to stop me before I could even get out of the starting gate!", Kaitlyn said back to Dolph, motioning to him and the tattooed hand that was still holding her in place. "Seriously dude, let me go if you know what's good for you."

He released her and threw his hands up in the air, feeling exasperated and at a loss for words. "You're all acting like someone fucking died or had a massive heart attack, for God's sake! Just calm the fuck down!"

Dolph and Big E both gave him a look that said they both wanted to beat the living crap out of him, before rolling their eyes and departing to continue their search for April. Kaitlyn, however, made sure to show and voice her displeasure with his comments, smacking him on the arm as hard as she could a few times before stomping her foot down on his.

"You're a real jerk, saying something like that. A big, fat, ignorant jerk."

He was at a loss for words.

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**And that's that! It's a bit shorter than usual, but it got the job done. Keep on the lookout for more updates coming soon! =)**


	21. the kiss of death

**Hey everyone...been a while! The reason I've taken so long to update this story will be explained at the end. For now, I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter and have a happy Easter tomorrow! On with the show!**

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**The Kiss Of Death**

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**3 - 25 - 13**

Punk sat in his darkened dressing room in relative silence. Before him, on a stool a few feet away, rested the urn that belonged to the legendary and now sadly deceased Paul Bearer. He had taken it from Kane a few weeks ago, and was using it in his quest to fuck around with the psyche of the Deadman, the phenom himself, the Undertaker. WrestleMania was right around the corner, and he was looking to do the one thing that so many had failed to do before him; be the man that ended the fabled, historic and iconic streak that currently stood at 20-0. **20-0.** He let that number float around his head for a few moments. He said it himself last week, and he believed every word he said till the bitter end. He was going to be the one in **20-1.**

He heard the door open and looked over his shoulder to see Paul entering the room, a worried look on his rotund face as he popped a squat next to him. No words were said between the two men. They had still been at odds, odds that were only intensified once Brock Lesnar, the human wrecking machine and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, came back into the fold in late January and put an exclamation point on his aforementioned return by delivering an F-5 to Vince, effectively breaking the old man's pelvis, or hip, whatever you wanted to believe. Paul had been spending more and more time with Brock and his quest to destroy Hunter, and he was fine with it. No Paul meant no stress, no wondering if Paul was going to stab him in the back, none of that excess bullshit. He liked being on his own again, even if it was only here and there.

The two men remained seated, the silence thickening in the air. Punk's eyes darted back and forth between the urn and Paul, before finally settling on the urn. The looks he had gotten from everyone backstage after he took it (stolen and all the other words associated with it just sounded so dirty) made him grin and smirk and feel like he did what he had set out to do; get people _talking._ Everyone knew that Bearer's family had signed off on everything...they still wanted to see his ass get kicked, and he was glad. His job wouldn't be done if nobody wanted to maim him. And he was thankful, relieved even, for all the attention he and the Deadman were getting as they inched closer and closer to the showcase of the immortals. It served well enough to take his mind off of his personal problems.

Paul took the hint and thankfully decided to get up and leave, and so he was back to where he was before his manager decided to become an unwelcome guest for a spell; sitting in silence and shrouded by darkness. Now that he could think without interruption, his mind wandered back, uneasily, to the seventh of January, a scant couple of months ago. He was still champion then. He was still on top of the wrestling world. He had his girl...he had everything he could have ever wanted out of life. And in the span of, oh, maybe ten, fifteen minutes, it had all come crashing down on him like one, big, monstrous tidal wave. He hadn't known what hit him till it was far too late to do any damage control. It was out of his hands and in the all mighty hands of a higher power. He felt helpless.

AJ's father suffered a heart attack that night. A massive, dangerous, life-threatening heart attack. He was immediately taken to the nearest hospital, Overlook Medical Center in Union, a few minutes away from her parents home. He had been there ever since, in critical condition, withering away in the ICU wing of the damn place, hooked up to tubes and contraptions and machines, all of that shit. It was saddening and depressing to bear witness to. And the toll it was taking on poor AJ was killing him on the inside, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. When she wasn't on the road, she was back home, with her father at every chance. Hunter had offered to give her some time off to take care of her ill dad, but she declined...she was dedicated to the business, something that he both admired and wanted to scold her for. Hiding behind every smirk and sultry look was an unbearable pain. He didn't know how she did it. He wished he could have half as much strength as her...but he also wished that she would take the time off to be with her family 24/7.

That's what led to a big fight between the two of them. Punk shook his head, remembering every little detail about it, right down to the actual verbatim. It started off innocently enough...he had asked her how her old man was holding up, and she said he was still in the same condition...they didn't know what they were going to do with him. She was scared, he vividly remembered that. Then it all went south from there.

What should have been customary of him as her boyfriend to comfort her and wait on her hand and foot, make her feel special and show her that not everything in the world was bleak and dreary, turned into him asking what was going to happen to them as a couple. AJ, predictably, wanted to know what the hell he was talking about, and why he would bring something like that up at a time like that. He was oblivious. All he wanted to know was what ground they stood on. She had been spending less and less time with him when she was on the road, and more and more of it with Dolph and Langston, her running buddies. He was particularly enraged when Dolph took it upon himself to take her to Jersey one time, and she agreed to it, knowing damn well that he had offered to do the same thing and she politely declined.

It pissed him off, and he couldn't remember the last time he was that angry at anything. Maybe when they told him Dwayne was winning the title at the Royal Rumble? This whole thing with Dolph and AJ leapfrogged that. How the hell did she think it'd be okay to turn down her boyfriend and go see her sick dad with Dolph? It boggled his mind and made him furious. It was as if their relationship meant jack shit to her. After everything they had been through and done together? He didn't know where she got off doing something like that to him. They had it out again at a house show a few weeks ago...and they hadn't spoken since. He went back to traveling with Kofi and Truth, she travelled with Dolph and Langston...it upset him to know that the distance between them could have been nipped in the bud had he not acted like a selfish douchebag. He wanted to go and make it up to her. And he was going to...

Punk opened the lid on the urn and reached inside, grabbing the note with AJ's handwriting scribbled all across it. It wasn't necessarily short, but it was sweet and to the point. He could hear her beautiful, squeaky, lilting voice in his head recite the words on endless loop. He stared at it in his hands, a blank and emotionless look on his face as he read it to himself again. It was barely a day old.

_"Dear Phil...I don't know what to do anymore. Between you, this business and most importantly, my father...my heart is being tugged in so many different places, it's a wonder I haven't had a nervous breakdown yet. There's so much going on and I just now have a moment to sit down and put everything into focus..._

_I love you. I know we haven't said it to each other, because we didn't need to, but it's true. I love you. And that's what makes this so hard for me. I feel like I'm torn between a rock and a hard place...and I don't want to drag you any further into my crazy, messed up life than I already have. You've always been so kind and compassionate towards me, and I will forever be grateful for the fact that you took a chance on me, one you didn't need to take, one you could have easily passed up and forgotten about. But I can't do this to you anymore...I can't keep neglecting you and shying away when all you've been trying to do is help in your own way. What I'm pretty much trying to say to you here is..._

_I'm letting you go. I won't let myself use you and take your kindness and love for granted anymore. You don't have to worry about me any longer. I'm going to continue to split time between the road and my father's side. You're free. This is what's best for us. I don't want to hurt and push you away anymore...this is goodbye, Phillip. I love you. Forever and always. April."_

Punk blinked as he folded the note up and put it back in the urn. Leaning back in his seat, he remained silent still, words not coming by easily as he thought about AJ's note for the millionth time in the last few hours. Without thinking, he slapped the urn away and watched it fly through the air, hitting the wall and tumbling all across the floor. He was doing something about this, and he was doing it now. He was going to fix it, just like he said he would.

Exiting his dressing room, he stalked down the hall, stomping his feet with each step, a man on a mission. Rounding the corner, he walked further down and came to a stop in front of the dressing room she shared with Dolph and Langston. He didn't care if either of those two were in there. He was getting his girl back one way or another. He was getting answers.

Pushing the door open so he could peek inside, out of the corner of his eye, he saw AJ...and he saw Dolph, right next to her, his arms wrapped protectively around her quaking body...he saw him press a kiss to her temple. He didn't need to see anything else. He knew in his heart and in his mind why she had written that little letter. It was all clear to him now.

He turned around, and he left. And after WrestleMania...he wasn't coming back.

* * *

**The reason why I've taken so long to update this is because I couldn't think of anything to write for it. My mind was pretty much drawing blanks when it came to updating this...so I'm putting it on hiatus till at least the summer. I feel this is for the best. I want to focus on My life and Crazy Is The New Sane while coming up with new ideas for this. Hopefully I'll be able to bring it back in the summer. Thank you all for reading this story and reviewing it and liking it as much as you all have. It means a lot to me, and hopefully you'll all stick with me through this. Thank you again! =)**


	22. payback

**Hey everyone...I'm back! Now I don't know if I'm bringing this story back from it's hiatus just yet, but given the return of our straight edge hero and our favorite crazy chick winning the Divas Title, I had to get this little blurb out of my head and onto Microsoft Word. So, with that, enjoy this new chapter of hopefully more to come! **

**The quote Punk says at the end is from the book 'City Of Fallen Angels.'**

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**The Kiss Of Death**

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_6 – 9 – 13_

_Morgado Funeral Home_

_Union City, New Jersey_

She looked up at the sun through her dark shades, the various branches jutting out from the trees not doing a very good job of shielding them from the rays. It was such a gorgeous day today, this depressing, saddening occasion that was sure to leave quite the scar on her heart for a long, long time. Looking down at her all black Converses, she sniffled, trying her hardest to not cry. He hated to see her cry, and would always try to soothe and ease her pain away when she did. Not anymore. Life wasn't going to be the same without him around.

Today, AJ watched as her father was laid to rest, right next to his mother and father, her grandma and grandpa.

Feeling two comforting hands on her shoulders, she saw Dolph and Big E standing by her side, her dysfunctional, weird little second family showing solidarity and support for her in her time of need. Next to them were her mother and Kaitlyn, along with the rest of the Divas and most of the roster as well. They all looked after her like she was their collective little sister, and for them to all be here for her right now, she was more than grateful. They had all taken the time to seek her out and offer their condolences and well wishes…she couldn't believe the outpour of emotion. She needed to take a moment to compose herself and to make sure she got through this ordeal without breaking down. She had to be the strong one here. Her mother was in shambles, a complete wreck, and it was up to her to make sure that she would be okay. All she needed was a minute or two, so she quietly snuck away.

That was when she saw him, in the shade, watching from afar.

He looked completely different from the last time she had seen him. He was letting his hair grow back, and in place of his usual grizzly looking beard were long sideburns that made him look like the wrestling equivalent of Wolverine, and all he was missing was the adamantium claws. She could tell, even from where she was standing, that he looked like he hadn't slept much, which didn't surprise her. He just looked…_different_. She guessed that's what happened when you took your ball and went home.

You changed.

AJ made eye contact with him as she went to go back to the crowd. He removed his own dark shades and showed off those emerald green-grey eyes, heavily lidded and world weary, that once upon a time made her swoon. They remained like this, staring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move, for a good few minutes, before she waved at him and gave him a small smile. It was the least she could do, knowing damn well how things had ended between them.

He did nothing. Shaking her head, she turned around to walk back to the crowd, and when she went to look back at him, he was gone, just like that. Just like he left back in April, like a ghost floating away into the skies. He was nowhere to be seen. She'd of been lying to herself if she didn't feel a little disappointed that he just upped and went like that. It would probably be the last time she'd see him for a while. Sure, he was _'scheduled'_ for a match at the upcoming pay per view in his backyard against Y2J, but she saw it for what it was; Paul blowing steam out of his nose and acting the only way he knew how to, like a master manipulator and showman. There was no way she'd see him at the pay per view, even if it was in Chicago.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

_6 – 16 – 13_

_Allstate Arena_

_Payback_

His whole body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to take a seat and let everything fully sink in right now, but he had to do this. Regardless of what he saw and what he felt had happened before he left, Dolph was still a good friend of his, one whom he respected very much. What had happened to him out there was complete and utter bullshit, but that was for another time. Right now, he just wanted to make sure the man was okay.

"How's the head?"

The bleached blonde show off looked up and a rueful expression spread across his facial features. He had just lost the World Heavyweight Title, and he was in no mood for pleasantries.

"How do you think it feels right now, Punk? I just lost the one thing that meant more than the world to me…"

Punk felt bad for Dolph. He was one of the hardest working guys, if not the hardest worker, on the entire roster, and for this to happen to him was upsetting. He knew he wasn't alone in thinking that Dolph had gotten a raw deal here.

"I know this is probably something you don't wanna hear right now man, but it can only get better from here. You know how good you are. They sure as hell know how good you are", he said, pointing to the walls, which were shaking due to the vociferous reaction of the fans. "All you have to do is prove it to the idiots upstairs."

AJ heard the entire conversation the two men were having from her position in the hall, right outside the open door. She was thankful that the topic of their talk didn't turn to her; for some reason, she found herself dreading the idea of the two of them discussing her and everything she had been through as of late. She was trying to move on from it and live her life as best as she could. She was the Divas Champion! She was supposed to be enjoying this right now, but she couldn't. The dark cloud that had come with losing her father still remained.

Suddenly, the conversation between Punk and Dolph had stopped, and she now found herself panicking. He would see her for sure, and she wasn't too certain that she wanted to be face to face with her ex right now. Quickly running out of viable options, AJ ran down the hall and threw herself behind some crates, hoping that Punk hadn't seen her. Once more, she was wrong.

"I know you were standing outside the entire time, April. You don't have to hide."

Cursing under her breath, she slowly moved from her hiding place and came face to face (or rather, face to chest) with Punk for the first time since he left right after WrestleMania. Before, she'd relish being in his company, waiting for the moments where he'd wrap his heavily inked arms around her fragile little body and hold her tight. She missed how he'd run his hand through her hair, whisper sweet nothings into her ear, everything like that. She wanted him to do it again, but she didn't deserve him right now. She didn't deserve him at all anymore. She didn't even know if he wanted anything to do with her anymore.

"Hi, Phillip", she squeaked out, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye. This was going to be harder for her than she thought.

"Listen uhm…I just want to say that I'm sorry for your loss. I know how much your father meant to you, and how big of an influence he was on your life and your decision to get into wrestling. I don't know what it's like to lose a parent, so I won't bullshit you and say_ 'I know how you feel'_. But I am sorry you have to go through this. Nobody should ever have to."

There was an edge to his voice, but underneath it, his trademark sincerity. She didn't know whether to hug him or simply thank him for showing that yes, even though she was the one who broke things off with him, he still cared enough about her to do this.

"Thank you, Phillip", she whispered, extending her hand toward him. "It means a lot coming from you."

He shook her hand, resisting his own urge to give her a hug. Now wasn't the time or the place. She was still grieving, and he had to keep his distance from her. She had Dolph and Langston to pick her up now. It wasn't his privilege anymore. Giving her a short nod, he went to turn on his heel and leave, walking off into the bright city lights of his hometown, before her voice stopped him.

"Hey…um…nice trunks."

He snorted, a chuckle escaping his lips. He faced her again, this time some distance between them, and shook his head. "Thanks…but we both know that's not what you want to say to me."

She always admired his clairvoyance. He saw right through her. "Why?"

When he raised an eyebrow in response, she looked down at the ground before finally making eye contact with him for the first time tonight. "Why did you leave after Mania?"

This time it was Punk's turn to look at the ground, the ghost of a grin spreading across his lips. He blinked a few times before wiping some sweat off his brow, facing her with a blank expression. "I needed to take some time off, heal up, rediscover my passion, find myself. I was champion of this place for four hundred and thirty four days. I didn't have time to enjoy anything. I needed to enjoy something for a change."

AJ felt like every one of his words were blows to her body and her heart. She felt responsible for a lot of what he just said. It showed in her pained facial features. She knew he wasn't trying to make her feel like a jerk for breaking things off, but she sure was feeling like one anyways. "I'm sorry, Phillip." It was all she could say to him.

He shook his head. "You've no need to feel sorry, April. That's life."

"I just…I don't know…I wish I had…"

He cut her off by raising his hand to silence her. "Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you're never what you were before."

She watched him leave after delivering that quote. She wanted to cry. What had she done? She was regretting writing that damn note to him in the first place. All she wanted to do right now was curl up into a ball and cry herself to sleep. She was supposed to be on top of the world right now, being the new Divas Champion and having the match of her life in front of a supportive crowd. She was left with nothing right now.

The only place to go from here was down.

* * *

**And that's that. Once more, I'm not sure whether I'm gonna bring this out of hiatus or not, but I hope you enjoyed this little update for what it was. Until next time! =)**


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